QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $4.61 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,561 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $4,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Equitable by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 237,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,396,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Equitable by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 30,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 7,240 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total transaction of $237,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,702.61. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,595,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 724,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,521,837.06. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,781,400. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Equitable Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $52.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.26 and its 200-day moving average is $50.86. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

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.