Artemis Investment Management LLP Buys 315,638 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 910,729 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 315,638 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Equitable were worth $38,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Equitable by 168.4% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 21,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Equitable by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 76,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Equitable by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 213,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,732,000 after purchasing an additional 13,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Equitable in the second quarter worth $162,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $148,470.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $819,596.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,555 shares in the company, valued at $27,263,672.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $148,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,321 shares in the company, valued at $819,596.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,469 shares of company stock valued at $3,067,434 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 0.2 %

Equitable stock opened at $42.83 on Wednesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.30.

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.