Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Sold by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,905 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.06% of Equitable worth $8,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total value of $609,353.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,369,863.32. This trade represents a 15.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total transaction of $1,652,711.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 789,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,853,688.29. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,861 shares of company stock valued at $6,672,783. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE EQH opened at $44.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -42.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.