R Squared Ltd Takes $308,000 Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 81.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 102,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,183,000 after buying an additional 46,027 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $162,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Equitable by 3.8% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. AXA S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the second quarter valued at $1,608,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Equitable by 160.3% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 48,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,832,000 after buying an additional 29,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of EQH stock opened at $53.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.58 and its 200-day moving average is $44.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $54.62.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -88.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,002,342.38. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 141,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,492,273.36. The trade was a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,698 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,806. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.67.

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.