Swiss National Bank Sells 70,200 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 895,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of Equitable worth $42,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 199 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,032 shares of company stock worth $4,799,566 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of EQH stock opened at $51.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.42 and its 200-day moving average is $47.62. The stock has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) 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 net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EQH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Equitable Company 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.