Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 170,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,291 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $4,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 43,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after buying an additional 12,982 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $23.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.98. The company has a market cap of $66.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.84. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.49.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Profile

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments.