Equity Residential $EQR Shares Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Equity Residential by 438.3% in Q4, buying 33,555 shares to own 41,211 shares valued at about $2.599 million.
• Equity Residential reported quarterly EPS of $0.24, missing the $0.33 consensus and posting revenue of $779.85M (vs. $781.79M expected), while setting FY2026 guidance of $4.020–4.140 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 (annualized $2.81) for a 4.3% yield, though the payout ratio is elevated at 112.4%.

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 438.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,211 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 33,555 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,597,658 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,728,296,000 after buying an additional 1,281,354 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,922,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,630,103,000 after buying an additional 688,854 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Equity Residential by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,231,961 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $403,395,000 after buying an additional 34,625 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Equity Residential by 3.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,199,635 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $336,564,000 after buying an additional 173,002 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Equity Residential by 5.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,045,443 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $326,592,000 after buying an additional 273,673 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $236,877.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,536.20. This represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE EQR opened at $66.00 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.57 and a 12 month high of $71.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.61.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 112.40%.

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.

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