Capital International Investors Raises Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,545,628 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,532,791 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Equitable were worth $645,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $40.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of -14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.24. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 232.29% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.The company’s revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $101,467.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,147,405.48. This represents a 8.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total value of $609,353.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 79,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,369,863.32. This trade represents a 15.31% 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 three months, insiders sold 156,661 shares of company stock worth $6,413,437. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Evercore set a $63.00 price target on Equitable and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.18.

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.