Brown Advisory Inc. Buys Shares of 157,167 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 157,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,187,000. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.05% of Equitable as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Equitable by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,278,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,705,000 after purchasing an additional 535,671 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Equitable by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,032,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $897,752,000 after purchasing an additional 79,999 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Equitable by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303,449 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Equitable by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,089,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,560,000 after purchasing an additional 355,078 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.80. 1,572,508 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,906. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.15. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.78.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.09.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $264,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,358,352.43. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,391.80. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 117,332 shares of company stock worth $5,993,760. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.