HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,890 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after purchasing an additional 338,205 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Equitable by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,513,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,735,000 after acquiring an additional 161,376 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,659,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,351,000 after acquiring an additional 957,828 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,554,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,529,000 after acquiring an additional 437,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,220,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,322,000 after purchasing an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at $32,536,349.35. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,364,610. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $54.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.49 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.98 and a 200 day moving average of $48.23.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

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.