Jeffrey J. Hurd Sells 6,666 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total transaction of $364,296.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. The trade was a 6.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equitable Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $51.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.17. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.76 and a 12-month high of $52.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 298.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped their price target 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 price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.18.

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.