Nick Lane Sells 25,000 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,282,137.85. This trade represents a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Nick Lane also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, December 18th, Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of Equitable stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00.

Equitable Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of EQH traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,075,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,197. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $52.04. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of -47.23 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter worth about $110,176,000. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,334,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 700.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after buying an additional 1,367,837 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1,092.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 875,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,302,000 after acquiring an additional 802,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Equitable by 15.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,083,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,855,000 after acquiring an additional 539,904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.