William James Iv Eckert Sells 4,300 Shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total value of $203,261.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,593.75. The trade was a 21.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Equitable Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE EQH traded up $1.06 on Thursday, reaching $49.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,060,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,839,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.39 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.09 and a 200-day moving average of $51.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of -17.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.11). The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -39.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Equitable by 8.2% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Equitable by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Equitable by 11.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 6.6% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Company 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.