Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,920,990 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group sharply reduced its stake in Equity Residential, selling 5,920,990 shares in the fourth quarter and cutting its holdings by 87.9%. It still owned 818,260 shares valued at about $51.6 million.
• Several insiders sold stock recently, including COO Michael L. Manelis and EVP Catherine Carraway, with insiders selling 10,058 shares over the last 90 days. Despite this, institutional investors still hold 92.68% of the company.
• Equity Residential reported mixed earnings, missing quarterly EPS estimates with $0.24 versus the expected $0.33, though revenue grew 2.5% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 per share, implying a 4.3% yield.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 87.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 818,260 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,920,990 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Equity Residential worth $51,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 434.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $375,474.45. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $42,725.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock opened at $65.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.61. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.57 and a 52-week high of $71.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equity Residential'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. Equities research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.40%.

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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