Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys 300,051 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 345.4%, acquiring an additional 300,051 shares during the first quarter, representing a total investment worth approximately $27.7 million.
• Equity Residential's earnings for the quarter met analysts' expectations at $0.99 per share, with revenue of $768.83 million, up 4.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925, yielding 4.2%, with a current payout ratio of 104.53%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 345.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 386,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 300,051 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.10% of Equity Residential worth $27,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.46.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.35. The stock had a trading volume of 340,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,378. The company has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.98. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The company had revenue of $768.83 million for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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. Sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.53%.

Equity Residential Company 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.