DnB Asset Management AS Has $17.49 Million Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 537.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 370,775 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 312,635 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.12% of Equitable worth $17,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Equitable by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $51.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.34. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.49 and a one year high of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.39. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EQH shares. Truist Financial upped their target price 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 lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value 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. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.