State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 16,084 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 14.2%, selling 16,084 shares and holding a total of 97,283 shares valued at approximately $5.07 million.
• Equitable Holdings announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 87.10%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Equitable, with one hold, nine buy ratings and target prices ranging from $63.00 to $75.00, indicating a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $64.90.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,283 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,084 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Equitable were worth $5,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 22.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,530,000 after purchasing an additional 83,003 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 3.3% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 83,674 shares of the company's stock worth $4,375,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 12.1% in the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 575,298 shares of the company's stock worth $29,967,000 after buying an additional 61,907 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 149.2% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 176,067 shares of the company's stock worth $9,171,000 after buying an additional 105,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth about $108,264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $367,271.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 88,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Performance

Equitable stock traded up $1.7410 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.6110. The stock had a trading volume of 2,787,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,038,259. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 43.24 and a beta of 1.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.99 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Equitable's dividend 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.