Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) CEO Sells $1,419,300.00 in Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,275,514.09. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Mark Pearson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 15th, Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total value of $1,422,900.00.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $1,332,000.00.

Equitable Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of EQH opened at $46.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a PE ratio of -42.72 and a beta of 1.38. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.76 and a 52-week high of $50.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -88.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 215.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Equitable by 117.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 246,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,060,000 after buying an additional 132,922 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Equitable by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the second quarter worth $613,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.10.

About Equitable

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.