Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Has $6.10 Million Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,275 shares during the quarter. Equitable comprises 2.5% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $295,000. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Equitable by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 27,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,336 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Equitable by 700.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,837 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $458,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.64.

Equitable Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $49.06 on Tuesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.76 and a 1 year high of $50.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of -45.01 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.49 and its 200 day moving average is $43.87.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s payout ratio is -88.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,002,342.38. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total transaction of $1,422,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 648,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,760,963.65. This trade represents a 4.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,032 shares of company stock worth $4,699,759. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.