Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $9.96 Million Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 12,200 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $9,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 425.3% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 434.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 203.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.68.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,194,419.07. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:EQR opened at $63.82 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $58.38 and a 1 year high of $75.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.62. The stock has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.54%.

Equity Residential 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.