Westbourne Investments Inc. Sells 14,225 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Westbourne Investments Inc. sold 14,225 shares of Equitable Holdings, reducing its stake by 34.5%, leaving it with 27,030 shares valued at $1,408,000.
• Equitable recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a yield of 2.0%.
• Institutional investors currently own 92.70% of Equitable Holdings' stock, indicating a high level of confidence from large financial entities.

Westbourne Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 34.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,030 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,225 shares during the quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 0.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock worth $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Equitable by 6.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 5.3% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Equitable by 8.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Invst LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,165 shares of the company's stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total value of $2,106,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,295,688.45. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,052,615.43. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.90.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,230,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,625. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.05. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.51 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

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.