Pensionfund Sabic Makes New $1.57 Million Investment in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Pensionfund Sabic bought 24,853 shares of Equity Residential in Q4 — a new stake worth about $1.57 million — while institutional investors collectively own roughly 92.68% of the company.
• Equity Residential raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 (annualized $2.81) for a ~4.8% yield, with an ex-dividend/record date of March 30 and payment on April 10, though the payout ratio is high at about 94.5%.
• The REIT slightly missed Q4 expectations with $1.03 EPS versus $1.04 expected and $781.9M revenue versus $786.4M expected, and analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $69.63.

Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 24,853 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,567,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,597,658 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,728,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,354 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 115,181 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,456,000 after purchasing an additional 97,906 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 568,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,446,000 after purchasing an additional 146,148 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,194,000 after purchasing an additional 26,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.8% in the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 209,614 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,471,000 after purchasing an additional 17,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $236,877.81. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Piper Sandler set a $78.00 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.50 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.63.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $58.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $62.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.10. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.57 and a one year high of $72.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a $0.7025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 94.54%.

Equity Residential Company 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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