Equitable (NYSE:EQH) PT Lowered to $46.00 at Morgan Stanley

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $46.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on EQH. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group lowered shares of Equitable from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $44.09.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $40.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.83 and its 200-day moving average is $38.41. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.72%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Equitable by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,815,000 after purchasing an additional 446,752 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Equitable by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,804,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,766,000 after purchasing an additional 637,916 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Equitable by 1,161.7% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,227,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Equitable by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,553,000 after acquiring an additional 18,475 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.