BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Stock Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets has reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 6.6%, now holding approximately 702,888 shares valued at $50.31 million.
• Despite BNP's decrease, several institutional investors increased their positions, with Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raising its stake by 194.4%.
• Equity Residential's stock has risen 1.4%, and the company reported earnings of $0.99 per share, meeting analyst expectations.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 702,888 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 49,750 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.18% of Equity Residential worth $50,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 51.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 4.4% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.6% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.9% in the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,283 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $64.63. 1,369,979 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,995,431. The firm has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The company had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.970-4.030 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.990-1.030 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.16.

Equity Residential Profile

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.