Morse Asset Management Inc Acquires New Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 0.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,278 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Equitable by 6.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 1.2%

EQH traded up $0.64 on Wednesday, hitting $53.08. The company had a trading volume of 681,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,542,218. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EQH. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.18.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $1,566,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 714,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,304,244.74. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,980 shares in the company, valued at $5,025,391.80. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.