Poplar Forest Capital LLC Has $31.87 Million Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 675,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 238,313 shares during the quarter. Equitable accounts for 5.9% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $31,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Equitable by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $55.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.69. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.96 and a twelve month high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s 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 $1,419,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,275,514.09. The trade was a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.17.

Equitable Company 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.