Forsta AP Fonden Sells 61,000 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Equitable were worth $2,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Equitable by 1,161.7% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,227,568 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 24,432.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,168,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155,487 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,958,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,815,000 after purchasing an additional 781,426 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,969,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,470,000 after purchasing an additional 721,028 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $40.78 on Tuesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its 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. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.72%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,775.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,635,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group cut shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.64.

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.