abrdn plc Increases Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

abrdn plc grew its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 98.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 122,993 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,047 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Equitable were worth $4,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 128.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Equitable by 35.7% in 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 period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of Equitable 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $680,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 619,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,063,457.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 241,907 shares of company stock valued at $8,338,649 in the last three months. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of EQH opened at $36.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.68.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Equitable 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.