Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Cut to $58.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $58.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

EQH has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.67.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $45.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $35.49 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.91. The company has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 1.23.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,364,610. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Equitable by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,278,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,705,000 after purchasing an additional 535,671 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,032,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,752,000 after buying an additional 79,999 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Equitable by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Equitable by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,089,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,560,000 after acquiring an additional 355,078 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equitable

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.