Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Reduces Stock Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 47.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,219 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 420,170 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.12% of Equity Residential worth $28,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 876.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,500,885 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $291,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,039,752 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Equity Residential by 797.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,085,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $134,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852,970 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 353.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,002,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $129,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,241 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,728,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,354 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,810.2% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,073,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Equity Residential this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg reports AvalonBay (AVB) and Equity Residential are in talks about a potential combination — a deal between two of the largest U.S. apartment REITs would be scale-accretive, could deliver cost synergies and improve portfolio diversification, which investors typically view favorably for long-term cash flow and dividend stability. AvalonBay, Equity Residential reportedly mull merger: Bloomberg Top US apartment owners AvalonBay, EQR to discuss combining
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 operating results show underlying strength: normalized FFO beat estimates, coastal market demand remained strong, occupancy held at ~96.5%, and management is returning capital via buybacks and a dividend increase — supportive for near-term cash generation and shareholder returns. EQR's Q1 FFO Beats Estimates on Coastal Demand Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target to $70 and maintained an Outperform rating, signaling analyst confidence in EQR’s fundamentals and providing upside versus recent levels. This analyst support can help underpin the stock if deal talks stall or take time. Evercore raises PT to $70
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel slightly trimmed its target from $78.50 to $78.25 but kept a Buy rating — this is effectively a neutral recalibration that still implies meaningful upside from current levels. Stifel adjusts price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 earnings call transcript is available for investors who want details on guidance (FY26 EPS range given), market-by-market trends, and capital allocation plans — useful for modeling but not new headline news. EQR Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: On the downside, GAAP EPS missed consensus (quarterly EPS below estimates) and reported revenue came in slightly under expectations — these misses help explain some intraday weakness and add short-term risk if market leadership narrows while a potential merger remains uncertain. Equity Residential Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equity Residential from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,419.07. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $655,078 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR opened at $65.40 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.37 and a 200 day moving average of $61.53. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.57 and a 52-week high of $72.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.73.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The business had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.7025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 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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