Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $143.09 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,856,717 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 429,621 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Equitable were worth $143,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Equitable by 64.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of EQH stock opened at $47.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.92.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company’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. Research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -42.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $101,467.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,147,405.48. This trade represents a 8.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $1,797,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 765,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,680,087.84. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 88,803 shares of company stock worth $3,913,078 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Equitable and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.08.

Equitable Company 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.