Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 446,752 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.53% of Equitable worth $1,265,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 6,869.6% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 433,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,420,000 after buying an additional 426,807 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $315,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,892,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Equitable from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.40.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH opened at $41.06 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $41.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.32 and its 200-day moving average is $35.96. The company has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the sale, the insider now owns 88,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total transaction of $394,971.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,814,662.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at $3,374,399.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,411 shares of company stock valued at $8,776,371. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.