Wedmont Private Capital Raises Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,539 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Equitable were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Equitable Stock Performance

Equitable stock opened at $53.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $56.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.72. The company has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total transaction of $317,101.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 101,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,300.22. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at $38,534,018.96. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,332 shares of company stock worth $5,976,400. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.