Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 112.7% during the first quarter, representing a total of 18,223 shares valued at approximately $949,000.
• Insiders at Equitable sold a total of 135,666 shares over the past three months, with notable transactions from the Chief Accounting Officer and the Chief Operating Officer reducing their ownership stakes.
• Equitable declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 to be paid on August 12th, which represents a 2.09% yield based on its annualized payout.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 112.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,223 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,656 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Equitable were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Equitable in the first quarter valued at about $252,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Equitable by 51.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 14,380 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the first quarter valued at about $255,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Equitable by 15.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 154,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,047,000 after acquiring an additional 20,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,512,000. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $264,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,358,352.43. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE EQH traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.04. 2,434,208 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,149,513. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.17. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Equitable's payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. 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, Equitable currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.30.

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.