UMB Bank n.a. Acquires 2,275 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 116.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,229 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Equitable by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after buying an additional 3,303,449 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Equitable by 608.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,289,000 after buying an additional 1,261,466 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 237.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 743,206 shares in the company, valued at $35,346,877.36. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,976,400. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $53.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.15. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.72.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQH. UBS Group cut their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.67.

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.