Equitable Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:EQH)

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 3,002 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,862% compared to the average volume of 153 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on EQH. Barclays raised their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.75.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $5.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.00. The stock had a trading volume of 7,305,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,327. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Equitable has a 52 week low of $35.49 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.78.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given 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 2.13%. Equitable's payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,534,018.96. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303,449 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 700.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company's stock worth $74,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,837 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 608.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company's stock worth $69,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,466 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Equitable by 237.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,799 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.