Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 752,091 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,725 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $35,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 700.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,837 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Equitable by 1,092.4% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 875,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,302,000 after buying an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 23,851.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 396,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,661,000 after acquiring an additional 394,744 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 1,133.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,328,000 after acquiring an additional 357,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after acquiring an additional 338,205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 2.8 %

EQH stock opened at $53.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.27 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $32.72 and a one year high of $54.82.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.67.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,282,137.85. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.