Simplicity Solutions LLC Acquires 6,282 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 83.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,787 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 126.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 128.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth $67,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the second quarter worth $71,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 23.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $36.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.20. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.89 and a 52 week high of $38.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 26.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 619,625 shares in the company, valued at $20,063,457.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,132 shares in the company, valued at $4,903,370.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares in the company, valued at $20,063,457.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.