Insider Selling: Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) COO Sells 6,666 Shares of Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,632,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,850,821. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.25. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.96 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Equitable's payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 43.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 3.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 206.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,358 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 46.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 359,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,131,000 after purchasing an additional 113,783 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 5.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EQH. Truist Financial raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.58.

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.