Westpac Banking Corp Grows Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 139.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 64,467 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 6.8% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,242,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 1.1% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the business’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 $236,877.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,536.20. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of EQR opened at $63.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $58.38 and a twelve month high of $75.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.57.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on EQR shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.78.

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.