Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,433 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $2,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 592.6% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Equitable in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Equitable by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total value of $293,871.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 68,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,956,370.24. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $1,712,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 676,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,185,935.60. The trade was a 5.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 176,358 shares of company stock valued at $8,760,599 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equitable to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.18.

Equitable Stock Up 0.7%

EQH stock opened at $45.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.39 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.21. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.64 and a beta of 1.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -39.13%.

Equitable 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.