NFC Investments LLC Buys Shares of 75,000 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

NFC Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,538,000. Equitable accounts for about 1.0% of NFC Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EQH. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 711,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,919,000 after buying an additional 7,720 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 266,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,208,000 after buying an additional 51,990 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Equitable by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 33,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,400,000 after buying an additional 14,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 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 $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,536,349.35. This trade represents a 4.55 % 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 Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,032 shares of company stock worth $4,799,566 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.75.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $51.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.62. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.18 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

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.