Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Stock Holdings Trimmed by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 405,978 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,135 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Equitable were worth $15,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 64.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Equitable from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.08.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $47.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of -16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $44.39 and its 200-day moving average is $42.93. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.19 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total transaction of $647,689.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 74,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,882.28. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 88,803 shares of company stock valued at $3,913,078. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.