First National Advisers LLC Raises Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

First National Advisers LLC boosted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during 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 boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $315,368.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares in the company, valued at $4,677,776.25. This trade represents a 6.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $51.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.58. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.13%.

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.