Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 35,378 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 992.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,378 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Equity Residential by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 6.3% during the third quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Equity Residential by 5.4% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 0.6% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 37,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $66.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.01. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.57 and a 52 week high of $70.31. The company has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The firm had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 112.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus set a $70.00 target price on Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.11.

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.