Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,186,627 shares of the company’s stock after selling 711,277 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.41% of Equitable worth $56,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Equitable by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Equitable by 73.7% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 343,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,248,000 after acquiring an additional 145,597 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Equitable by 366.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 87,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,892,000 after acquiring an additional 68,505 shares during the period. Finally, Groupe la Francaise grew its position in Equitable by 8.2% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 1.4%

EQH stock opened at $37.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.84. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 76,490 shares of company stock valued at $3,587,184 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.55.

About Equitable

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.