Poplar Forest Capital LLC Has $35.56 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,067,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 420,858 shares during the quarter. Equitable makes up approximately 5.2% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Equitable worth $35,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Equitable by 143.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Equitable by 128.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,942,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares in the company, valued at $20,063,457.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,063,457.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 144,132 shares in the company, valued at $4,903,370.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EQH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

Equitable Trading Up 2.2 %

EQH stock traded up $0.80 on Wednesday, hitting $38.08. 2,147,950 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,613,072. The stock has a market cap of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.89 and a 1-year high of $38.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.71 and a 200-day moving average of $32.48.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

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.