Insider Selling: Equitable (NYSE:EQH) COO Sells $328,296.50 in Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total transaction of $328,296.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 61,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,988,658.55. This trade represents a 9.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Equitable Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of EQH stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,772,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,829,087. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.39 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.92. The stock has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.50 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.11). Equitable had a positive return on equity of 107.71% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -39.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth about $4,167,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equitable by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 28,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 5,987 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Equitable by 149.2% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 176,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,171,000 after acquiring an additional 105,418 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Equitable by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,530,000 after acquiring an additional 83,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter worth approximately $253,000. Hedge funds and other 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.