State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 38.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,134 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Equitable were worth $4,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equitable by 1,421.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 261.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE EQH opened at $40.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The company has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.28.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently 29.72%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays began coverage on Equitable in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

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.