Morgan Stanley Cuts Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $67.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $67.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

EQH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of EQH opened at $52.0740 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.12 and a 200 day moving average of $52.14. Equitable has a 52-week low of $37.99 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,295,688.45. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $367,271.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 88,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,490 shares of company stock worth $7,414,316. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 592.6% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.