Two Sigma Investments LP Trims Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,646 shares of the company's stock after selling 282,000 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.06% of Equitable worth $8,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EQH. Barclays PLC increased its position in Equitable by 13.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 501,498 shares of the company's stock worth $21,076,000 after buying an additional 59,844 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Equitable by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Equitable by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,936 shares of the company's stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Equitable by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,931 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 101,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,300.22. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,976,400 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.98. 2,602,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,587,372. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's payout ratio is 29.35%.

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.