Guggenheim Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,664 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,404 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Equitable were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Equitable by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Equitable by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,380 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 743,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,346,877.36. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,332 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,315 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 1.6 %

EQH stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.04. 313,807 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,031,902. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equitable's revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.33.

About Equitable

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.