Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 90,606 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings by 8.8%, holding 940,623 shares worth approximately $48.7 million after selling 90,606 shares in Q1.
• Analyst ratings for Equitable Holdings show a positive outlook, with one hold rating and nine buy ratings, and an average price target of $65.00.
• CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares at an average price of $53.18, reflecting a decrease in his position by 3.98% as insiders collectively sold 94,000 shares worth nearly $4.94 million in the last 90 days.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 940,623 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,606 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.31% of Equitable worth $48,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 188,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 35,159 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,882 shares of the company's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,939,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 622,055 shares of the company's stock worth $29,342,000 after buying an additional 120,557 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $1,566,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 714,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,304,244.74. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 94,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,940,960. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,180,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,798,214. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.74 and a beta of 1.14. 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 52-week low of $37.99 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.22 and a 200 day moving average of $52.14.

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

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.