Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 219.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,082 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Equitable by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Equitable by 128.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Equitable by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Equitable by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $36.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.90 and a 200 day moving average of $32.68. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.89 and a fifty-two week high of $38.44.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. Analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.28, for a total transaction of $341,737.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 160,622 shares in the company, valued at $5,506,122.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were 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 owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 241,907 shares of company stock valued at $8,338,649. Company 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.