Swiss National Bank Sells 11,500 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 1.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 883,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Equitable were worth $46,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at about $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $53.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.16 and a 200 day moving average of $52.12. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89 and a beta of 1.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.99 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,980 shares in the company, valued at $5,025,391.80. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,052,615.43. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.