Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Purchased by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in Equitable by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Equitable by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Equitable by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 1.6%

EQH opened at $51.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.13. The company has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.39 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 87.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total value of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,411.86. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.69, for a total transaction of $364,555.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 81,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,396,566.72. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 192,468 shares of company stock worth $10,250,470 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.55.

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.