Qsemble Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 7,827 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,815,000 after purchasing an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Equitable by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,804,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,766,000 after purchasing an additional 637,916 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 1,161.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,227,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,553,000 after buying an additional 18,475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.64.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $40.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.24. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.03. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently 29.72%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,635,021. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.