Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $459,000 Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 83.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,282 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,143,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,838,000 after buying an additional 854,689 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 33,444,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,193 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 26,902,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $763,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,484 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $553,559,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,933,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,213,000 after purchasing an additional 336,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EQH. UBS Group raised their price objective on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $36.24 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $21.89 and a one year high of $38.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.20.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s payout ratio is 26.04%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,942,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $361,276.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares in the company, valued at $5,112,086.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 241,907 shares of company stock valued at $8,338,649 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.02% 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.