Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,693 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Equitable by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,815,000 after buying an additional 446,752 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Equitable by 60.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 100,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 38,040 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Equitable by 265.0% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 69,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after acquiring an additional 50,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,892,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQH. Barclays assumed coverage on Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group downgraded Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,775.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,635,021. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $429,564.21. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of EQH stock opened at $40.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The company’s revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

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.