DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 312,635 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 537.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 370,775 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 312,635 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Equitable were worth $17,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Equitable by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Equitable by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

Equitable Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $51.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.34. 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 one year low of $35.49 and a one year high of $56.00.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total transaction of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. This trade represents a 6.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.