National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,090 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.13% of Equitable worth $18,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 700.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 608.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,466 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1,092.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 802,160 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,554,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,529,000 after purchasing an additional 437,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,144,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,275,514.09. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH opened at $55.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.96 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 25.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.17.

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.