M&T Bank Corp Raises Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5,700.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 444,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 436,409 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $27,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EQR. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 96.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 11,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,537 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 170.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,419.07. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $61.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.45. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.57 and a 12-month high of $72.40.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.940-0.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS. Research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 95.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus set a $70.00 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.38.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.