ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Purchases 96,295 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 356.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,341 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,295 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Equitable were worth $5,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,191,000 after acquiring an additional 153,457 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at about $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 7.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,001,000 after purchasing an additional 148,180 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,476,000 after buying an additional 78,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,939,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Trading Down 10.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $45.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.49 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.78. The company has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.23.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,282,137.85. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at $5,039,221.85. The trade was a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on EQH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Equitable Company 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.