Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 568,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,148 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.15% of Equity Residential worth $36,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the second quarter valued at $2,351,689,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 725.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,908,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $128,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677,278 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,019,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $541,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,580 shares in the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,581,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 252.9% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,329,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,731,000 after acquiring an additional 952,813 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,419.07. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $375,474.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of EQR opened at $63.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.57. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $58.38 and a twelve month high of $75.86.

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 (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 was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $73.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $78.00 price target on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.68.

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.