Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,931 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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 buying an additional 1,367,837 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position 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 worth $41,302,000 after purchasing an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 23,851.6% in the third 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. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1,133.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,328,000 after purchasing an additional 357,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Equitable by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after buying an additional 338,205 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE EQH opened at $54.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.92. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.76 and a 12 month high of $54.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.78 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The business’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research 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, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,162.36. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 161,698 shares of company stock worth $7,904,806. 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.