Compass Advisory Group LLC Buys Shares of 12,922 Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Compass Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Equitable by 24.9% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 299,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,203,000 after purchasing an additional 59,700 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 311,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,135 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Equitable by 80.7% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 209,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,652,000 after purchasing an additional 93,660 shares during the period. Advent International L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,893,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 532,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,057,000 after buying an additional 106,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 4,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total transaction of $187,501.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 124,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,273,054.10. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $101,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,147,405.48. This trade represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 216,919 shares of company stock worth $9,118,088. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 1.1%

EQH opened at $43.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $56.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

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

Equitable Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on EQH. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Equitable and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Equitable 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.