Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,328,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,531 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of Equitable worth $121,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Parkwood LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 240,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,546,000 after purchasing an additional 12,170 shares during the period. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $24,702,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,001,000. Finally, EJF Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 37,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total value of $134,836.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,411.86. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $53.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.69 and a one year high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.44 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.82 and a 200 day moving average of $52.06.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

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.