Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Lowers Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,107 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,118 shares during the quarter. Equitable accounts for about 2.8% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $6,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 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 Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total transaction of $317,101.62. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 101,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,835,300.22. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.90, for a total value of $1,587,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 733,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,786,597.40. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,332 shares of company stock worth $5,976,400. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE EQH traded up $0.66 on Thursday, hitting $53.59. 1,630,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,563,567. The company has a market capitalization of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.47. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Equitable's revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.67.

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.