Vest Financial LLC Purchases 78,725 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 752,091 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 78,725 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.24% of Equitable worth $35,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Equitable by 86.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Equitable by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 141,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EQH stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.66. 2,292,398 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,879,443. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.72 and a 12-month high of $54.82. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Equitable's payout ratio is 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.67.

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.