Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires Shares of 11,331 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 298.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $315,368.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $53.77 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $32.72 and a 1-year high of $54.82. The company has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.59.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EQH shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Equitable in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

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.