Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires New Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 188,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,909,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.06% of Equitable as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,712,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,296. The company's 50-day moving average is $50.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.47. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve 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 company has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Equitable's quarterly revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total value of $317,101.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 101,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,835,300.22. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 118,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,976,400. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.