American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Equity Residential $EQR

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,826,873 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 77,511 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.74% of Equity Residential worth $182,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 203.5% during the 3rd 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. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth $68,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,004,512.03. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $63.19 on Friday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $58.38 and a fifty-two week high of $75.86. The company has a market capitalization of $23.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 94.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on EQR. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $73.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.50 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Friday, February 6th. Six equities research 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 a consensus price target of $69.78.

About Equity Residential

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.