Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $41.30 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 1,092.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 875,589 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 802,160 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $41,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Equitable by 623.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.18.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $51.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of -47.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.86 and a 200-day moving average of $44.17. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.76 and a 52-week high of $52.04.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The business’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,282,137.85. This trade represents a 17.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 161,698 shares of company stock worth $7,904,806. Corporate 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.