Arizona State Retirement System Sells 1,170 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 92,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Equitable were worth $4,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 298.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.17.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $50.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.13 and a 200 day moving average of $47.26. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $33.38 and a one year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

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.