Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 196,689 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 319.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196,689 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $12,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after buying an additional 338,205 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Equitable by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,513,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,735,000 after acquiring an additional 161,376 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Equitable by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,659,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,351,000 after purchasing an additional 957,828 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,554,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,529,000 after purchasing an additional 437,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 2.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,220,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,322,000 after purchasing an additional 54,380 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH stock opened at $51.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.49 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $53.01 and its 200-day moving average is $48.34. The company has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at $7,109,411.76. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.75.

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.