First Trust Advisors LP Sells 401,077 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,385,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 401,077 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.83% of Equitable worth $121,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EQH. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 532,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,057,000 after acquiring an additional 106,967 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 20,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1.2% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 33,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 63.9% in the third quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 306,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,555,000 after purchasing an additional 119,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 7.1% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 63,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $39.34 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.16, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.51 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EQH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings cut Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Equitable Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.