Aviva PLC Purchases 125,261 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Aviva PLC increased its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 188.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,743 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 125,261 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of Equitable worth $9,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Equitable by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,191,000 after purchasing an additional 153,457 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 148,180 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company's stock worth $35,476,000 after acquiring an additional 78,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,939,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE:EQH traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $47.49. The stock had a trading volume of 453,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,296. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.23. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.49 and a one year high of $56.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. Research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid 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 2.02%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. The trade was 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 Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. This represents a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,364,610 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EQH. UBS Group upgraded Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.