Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 936 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 936 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 1,421.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 261.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,806,775.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,263,672.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,469 shares of company stock valued at $3,067,434. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $42.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.41. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $44.50. The firm has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

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.