Natixis Purchases New Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 271,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,800,000. Natixis owned about 0.09% of Equitable at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Equitable by 13.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 501,498 shares of the company's stock worth $21,076,000 after purchasing an additional 59,844 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 388,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,326,000 after buying an additional 11,085 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company's stock worth $89,001,000 after buying an additional 148,180 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Equitable by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,191,000 after buying an additional 153,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 743,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,346,877.36. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,332 shares of company stock worth $4,141,315 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.74. 617,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,624,627. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.22. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.23.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.91.

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.