O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH – Free Report) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 247,869 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,934 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $11,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Equitable by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Equitable by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Equitable by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Equitable by 4.5% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 9,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total value of $609,353.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,369,863.32. This represents a 15.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.44, for a total transaction of $404,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 124,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,023,375.92. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,661 shares of company stock valued at $6,413,437. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.
Equitable Price Performance
Equitable (NYSE:EQH – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.
Equitable declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Equitable Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently -42.25%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.18.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Equitable
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.
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