Candriam S.C.A. Has $2.09 Million Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 66.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,283 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,617 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Equitable by 298.3% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.17.

Equitable Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of EQH opened at $50.41 on Monday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.38 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.13 and its 200-day moving average is $47.31. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.13%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of Equitable 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 directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.