Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Purchased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 594,949 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,838 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of Equitable worth $33,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 592.6% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Equitable by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total transaction of $293,871.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 68,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,370.24. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $1,712,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 676,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,185,935.60. This trade represents a 5.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 176,358 shares of company stock worth $8,760,599. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH stock opened at $47.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.03. The company has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.36 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.39 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 107.71% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -39.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.18.

About Equitable

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.