Donoghue Forlines LLC Takes Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired 43,779 shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. during the first quarter, worth approximately $2.28 million.
• Equitable announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.1%, payable on August 12th.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $65.00 for Equitable, with various ratings ranging from "buy" to "overweight" from different research firms.

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 43,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,280,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 5,536.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,109,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071,691 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 237.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company's stock worth $82,955,000 after buying an additional 1,236,799 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth $53,927,000. Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 616.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,245,568 shares of the company's stock worth $58,753,000 after buying an additional 1,071,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth $48,472,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $1,566,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 714,367 shares in the company, valued at $37,304,244.74. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $264,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,358,352.43. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.00.

Equitable Trading Up 3.3%

EQH traded up $1.74 on Tuesday, reaching $54.85. 4,378,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,861. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $37.99 and a one year high of $56.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.12. The company has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.23 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.10%.

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.