Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,029,435 shares of the company’s stock after selling 478,612 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.97% of Equitable worth $142,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQH. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 700.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367,837 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 1,092.4% in the 4th 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 20.7% in the 4th 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 period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,144,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 23,851.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 396,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,661,000 after purchasing an additional 394,744 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.17.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $55.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.69. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.96 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,146,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable 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.