Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 41,082 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 219.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,082 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,565,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,490,000 after acquiring an additional 402,720 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 10.0% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 26,902,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,484 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,176,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,195,000 after purchasing an additional 45,999 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,073,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,874,000 after purchasing an additional 13,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 14.7% in the third quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC now owns 1,488,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,261,000 after purchasing an additional 190,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,063,457.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $680,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 144,132 shares in the company, valued at $4,903,370.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 241,907 shares of company stock valued at $8,338,649. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $36.89 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.89 and a 52-week high of $38.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.90 and a 200 day moving average of $32.68.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 26.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company 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 increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

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.