Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $51.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.62. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,032 shares of company stock valued at $4,799,566. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two 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, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

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.