Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,793 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 10.0% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 26,902,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $763,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450,484 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 4,172.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 593,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,836,000 after purchasing an additional 579,137 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,565,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,490,000 after purchasing an additional 402,720 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 50.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 940,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,696,000 after purchasing an additional 314,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter valued at about $7,855,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 144,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total transaction of $247,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,902 shares in the company, valued at $737,631.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EQH. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.67.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $37.13 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.89 and a 12-month high of $38.44.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

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.