Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 24,913 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,830,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,913 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.21% of Equitable worth $1,897,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 5,039 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter valued at about $2,094,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of Equitable by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 144,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,536,000 after purchasing an additional 61,046 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in Equitable by 379.5% in the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,579,000 after purchasing an additional 100,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Equitable by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 36,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, CFO Robin M. Raju sold 36,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,991,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 140,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,573,932. This represents a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total value of $293,871.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 68,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,370.24. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,358 shares of company stock worth $8,760,599. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.18.

Equitable Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $45.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.39 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.61. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of -16.35 and a beta of 1.17.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -39.13%.

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.