Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,975 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,382 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $2,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 298.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $49.55 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.95 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.75.

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.