J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys 22,838 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 667,004 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,838 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $15,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQNR. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.2% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 115,879 shares of the company's stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 4,626 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 94,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 9,512 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,253,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $317,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 157,810 shares of the company's stock worth $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 59,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Equinor ASA stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,874,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,526,293. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.87 and a 200-day moving average of $23.99. Equinor ASA has a 52 week low of $21.41 and a 52 week high of $29.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is 38.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EQNR. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Danske raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.10.

About Equinor ASA

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.