Insider Selling: Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Director Sells $151,093.00 in Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Director Bertram Scott sold 2,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.35, for a total value of $151,093.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,279.75. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE:EQH traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,645,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,615,110. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.57. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of -16.30, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -36.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 64.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Equitable by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 245.2% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho set a $68.00 target price on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.82.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company’s principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.