Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 240,659 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 70.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 579,880 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 240,659 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Equitable were worth $19,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at $553,559,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1,734.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,952,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573,857 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 94.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,723,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,795 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Equitable in the first quarter valued at about $32,141,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on 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 target price on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.67.

Equitable Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of EQH opened at $36.24 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.89 and a 52 week 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $361,276.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares in the company, valued at $5,112,086.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $361,276.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares in the company, valued at $5,112,086.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total value of $247,030.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,631.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Company Profile

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.