Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 9,458 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,565,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,490,000 after purchasing an additional 402,720 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 1,161.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,692,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227,568 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,553,000 after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 781,426 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $41.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.41. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $41.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.32 and a 200-day moving average of $35.96.

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

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.40.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,129,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 695,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,174,641.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total transaction of $5,803,122.38. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,374,399.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,129,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 695,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,174,641.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,411 shares of company stock valued at $8,776,371. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.