B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Buys 1,751 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,725 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Equitable were worth $2,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after buying an additional 3,303,449 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 513,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,217,000 after acquiring an additional 60,643 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $431,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Equitable by 537.7% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 370,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,489,000 after acquiring an additional 312,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Equitable by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 245,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,560,000 after purchasing an additional 96,729 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $54.97 on Thursday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.49 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.69.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,282,137.85. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.