AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 81.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,932 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 298.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $51.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.67 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.44.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EQH. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

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.