Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 257,526 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,011 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Equitable worth $13,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $252,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Equitable by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 14,380 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Equitable by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 154,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 20,317 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Equitable stock opened at $52.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.15. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $53.62 and its 200 day moving average is $51.95.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 79.05%. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $1,566,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 714,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,304,244.74. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,145,208. Company insiders own 1.10% 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.