Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,166,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,250,000. Norges Bank owned about 4.52% of Equitable as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Equitable by 20.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,191,000 after acquiring an additional 153,457 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,001,000 after purchasing an additional 148,180 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,476,000 after buying an additional 78,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $29,939,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Down 1.3 %

Equitable stock opened at $53.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.02 and its 200 day moving average is $48.26. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.49 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $7,109,411.76. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,364,610. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.75.

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.