Community Trust & Investment Co. Increases Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,797 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 890 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. owned 0.10% of Equitable worth $15,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Equitable by 61.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Equitable by 623.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,275,514.09. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total transaction of $316,834.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,002,342.38. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 100,032 shares of company stock valued at $4,699,759. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE EQH opened at $49.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a PE ratio of -45.78 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.93. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.76 and a fifty-two week high of $50.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -88.07%.

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.