Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $13.58 Million Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Equity Residential by 40% in Q4, adding 61,500 shares to hold 215,400 shares valued at $13.58 million (about 0.06% of the company).
• Equity Residential missed Q1 EPS expectations ($0.24 vs. $0.33) and posted slightly below‑estimate revenue, but set FY‑2026 guidance of 4.020–4.140 EPS and the analyst consensus EPS is ~4.09 with a consensus price target of $69.86 (rating: Hold).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 (annualized $2.81, yield ~4.3%), while insiders sold roughly 10,058 shares (~$655k) during the quarter; institutional investors own 92.68% of the stock.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 61,500 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co owned about 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $13,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 43,936 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,739,000 after acquiring an additional 7,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Equity Residential by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,433 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Evercore raised their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Equity Residential from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $63.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $236,877.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,536.20. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $65.25 on Tuesday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.57 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average price is $61.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.52.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

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

About Equity Residential

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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