Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 4,559,997 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,943,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,559,997 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.52% of Equitable worth $202,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQH. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Equitable by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 261.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $894,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $834,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on EQH shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,635,021. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,635,021. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,918,964. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $41.37 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.33. The company has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $44.50.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

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.