Equitable (NYSE:EQH) PT Raised to $41.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on EQH. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $39.67.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $35.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.36 and its 200 day moving average is $32.10. Equitable has a 12 month low of $21.89 and a 12 month high of $38.44.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 26.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,942,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,063,457.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $170,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,367.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 201,938 shares of company stock valued at $6,890,172. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the first quarter worth about $2,726,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 1,421.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the first quarter worth about $532,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $9,168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.