Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $55.50 and last traded at $55.09, with a volume of 339722 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.74.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.92.

Equitable Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.79. The company has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total transaction of $364,296.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 92,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,039,221.85. This represents a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 125,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,165,071. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $587,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 20.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,191,000 after acquiring an additional 153,457 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,001,000 after acquiring an additional 148,180 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,476,000 after buying an additional 78,725 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.