Headlands Technologies LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Headlands Technologies LLC decreased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 76.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,725 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,058 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Equitable were worth $176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 20.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company's stock worth $38,191,000 after buying an additional 153,457 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 7.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,001,000 after purchasing an additional 148,180 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,476,000 after purchasing an additional 78,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Equitable in the fourth quarter worth about $29,939,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $4.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.31. 573,021 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,087,488. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.49 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $364,296.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 92,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. This trade represents a 6.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,291,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,282,137.85. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.75.

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.