Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 721,028 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,969,388 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 721,028 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Equitable worth $80,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,201,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the second quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 36.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 2.6% during the second quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 17,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 892.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group downgraded Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,635,021. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,775.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,635,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,938 shares of company stock worth $2,090,536. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $42.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.79. The firm has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.43. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $44.50.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. 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.