Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 89.6%, selling 52,288 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with only 6,077 shares valued at $317,000.
• Equitable's stock has a current price of $54.10 with a market cap of $16.20 billion, and it has seen a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a dividend yield of 2.0%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 89.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,077 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,288 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Equitable were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at about $108,264,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 5,536.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,109,113 shares of the company's stock worth $110,286,000 after buying an additional 2,071,691 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Equitable by 23.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,878,516 shares of the company's stock worth $566,662,000 after buying an additional 2,061,496 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter worth about $99,319,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 85.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,909,451 shares of the company's stock worth $96,981,000 after buying an additional 879,813 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH traded up $0.90 on Thursday, reaching $54.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,596,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.81 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.05. The stock has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.90 and a beta of 1.16.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Equitable's payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total value of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.69, for a total value of $364,555.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 81,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,396,566.72. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,880 shares of company stock worth $6,318,307 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wolfe Research raised Equitable to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.55.

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.