Jeffrey Hurd Sells 14,358 Shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total value of $647,689.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 74,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,882.28. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equitable Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of EQH opened at $45.36 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 232.29% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Equitable by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its position in Equitable by 1.5% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.