UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Has $288,000 Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd cut its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 82.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,206 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Equitable were worth $288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Equitable by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $52.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.49 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,536,349.35. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at $5,039,221.85. This represents a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,364,610 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.