Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,193 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,987 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQH. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 19,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 125,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,896,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 673,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,749,000 after acquiring an additional 18,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,242,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,128,000 after acquiring an additional 887,123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total value of $134,836.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,411.86. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at $37,295,688.45. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Down 1.3%

EQH stock opened at $52.8750 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64 and a beta of 1.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.99 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 87.10%.

Equitable Company 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.