Artemis Investment Management LLP Buys 65,197 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 975,926 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,197 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.31% of Equitable worth $46,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at about $587,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 36,840 shares of the company's stock worth $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 25,678 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Equitable by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 62,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 22,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,002,342.38. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 161,698 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,806. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of EQH stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,567,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,002. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.76 and a 1-year high of $52.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.86 and a 200 day moving average of $44.22. The firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Equitable from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.18.

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.