Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Makes New $2.10 Million Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 40,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,099,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 buying an additional 535,671 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of 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 position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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. lifted its stake in shares of 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. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE EQH traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,623,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,551,424. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $56.00.

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

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EQH. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,595,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 724,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,521,837.06. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 117,332 shares of company stock worth $5,993,760. Company 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.