Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 27.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,482,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 571,944 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Equitable were worth $60,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. &PARTNERS lifted its stake in Equitable by 0.7% in the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 34,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 4.8% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Equitable by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 88,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 71,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 26.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $148,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $819,596.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total value of $1,266,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,635,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,469 shares of company stock worth $3,067,434. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.64.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $42.11 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.90 and its 200 day moving average is $39.52. 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 has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. Equitable had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 87.49%. 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 company earned $1.17 EPS. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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 $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.