Community Trust & Investment Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Community Trust & Investment Co. cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 294,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,574 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $16,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQH. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Equitable by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equitable to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.55.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total value of $2,106,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at $37,295,688.45. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,880 shares of company stock worth $6,318,307. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $53.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.81 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.04.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.10%.

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.