Ellsworth Advisors LLC Has $1.85 Million Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,107 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter worth approximately $110,176,000. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,334,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Equitable by 700.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,837 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Equitable by 1,092.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 875,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,302,000 after purchasing an additional 802,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Equitable by 23,851.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 396,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,661,000 after purchasing an additional 394,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $51.70 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.22. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of -47.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.76 and a 12 month high of $52.04.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -88.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total transaction of $316,834.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,002,342.38. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,275,514.09. The trade was a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 161,698 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,806 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.