Poplar Forest Capital LLC Sells 420,858 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,067,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 420,858 shares during the period. Equitable makes up about 5.2% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $35,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 143.1% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Equitable by 128.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of Equitable 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 144,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,129,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 695,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,174,641.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,147,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,072. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.48. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.89 and a fifty-two week high of $38.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Equitable from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

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.