M.D. Sass LLC Acquires Shares of 543,868 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

M.D. Sass LLC bought a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 543,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,654,000. Equitable makes up approximately 1.9% of M.D. Sass LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. M.D. Sass LLC owned 0.17% of Equitable at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 valued at approximately $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 7.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,001,000 after acquiring an additional 148,180 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,476,000 after acquiring an additional 78,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $29,939,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total transaction of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. This trade represents a 6.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,534,018.96. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $53.70 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.49 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced 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%. Analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

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.