Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 275,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,168,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 1,161.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,692,000 after buying an additional 7,227,568 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 1,105.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,242,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,390,000 after buying an additional 1,139,814 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Equitable by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,958,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,815,000 after acquiring an additional 781,426 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Equitable by 4,172.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 593,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,836,000 after acquiring an additional 579,137 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $40.03 on Wednesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $41.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.89.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.40.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,087,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,025 shares in the company, valued at $24,825,306. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $361,276.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,112,086.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,087,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,825,306. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,411 shares of company stock valued at $8,776,371 in the last quarter. 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.