AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 709,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 173,585 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.25% of Equitable worth $36,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Equitable by 180.7% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 32,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 21,127 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 241,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,616,000 after purchasing an additional 50,455 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth $1,684,000. Algebris UK Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 28.6% during the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 712,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,151,000 after purchasing an additional 158,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Equitable by 43.1% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 149,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,580,000 after buying an additional 44,978 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,593.75. This represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

Equitable Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $39.28 on Wednesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.51 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.04.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

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.