Vest Financial LLC Has $35.48 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 752,091 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,725 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.24% of Equitable worth $35,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $315,368.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares in the company, valued at $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,282,137.85. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE EQH opened at $53.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.72 and a 12 month high of $54.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.27 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. On average, analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.67.

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.