Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Equitable Put Options (NYSE:EQH)

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 3,002 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,862% compared to the typical volume of 153 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.75.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,536,349.35. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 7,823 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 710,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,881,000 after acquiring an additional 152,847 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth $564,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Equitable by 2.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,220,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,322,000 after purchasing an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,041,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $54.97 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.05 and a 200-day moving average of $48.69. The stock has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable has a 52-week low of $35.49 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

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.