Vontobel Holding Ltd. Makes New $465,000 Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 128.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth $67,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 23.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Equitable by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH opened at $37.03 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.41. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $21.89 and a one year high of $38.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.04%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,112,086.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,087,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 685,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,825,306. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $361,276.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 141,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,112,086.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. 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. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

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.