Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 99,659 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,216 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99,659 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Equitable were worth $20,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.17, for a total value of $1,912,349.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 689,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,191,056.80. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.99, for a total value of $332,642.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 75,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,051.02. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,168 shares of company stock worth $8,994,990. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.18.

Equitable Stock Down 1.3%

Equitable stock opened at $44.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.39 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.83. The company has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.