Insider Selling: Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Director Sells 2,780 Shares of Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Director Bertram Scott sold 2,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.35, for a total transaction of $151,093.00. Following the sale, the director owned 23,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,279.75. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Equitable Trading Up 0.0%

EQH traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $53.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,645,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,615,110. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of -16.30, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $55.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The business’s revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Equitable’s payout ratio is -36.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the second quarter worth $1,136,305,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,545,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532,791 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $550,995,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth $399,576,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Equitable by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,784,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,485,000 after purchasing an additional 523,638 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.82.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company’s principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.