Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.46 Billion Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,633,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,495,785 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Equitable worth $1,459,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,012,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,645,301 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,867,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,179,000 after buying an additional 12,370 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,822,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,812,000 after buying an additional 193,640 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,297,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,202,000 after buying an additional 55,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,637,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,704,000 after buying an additional 72,267 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $574,894.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 89,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,696.12. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total value of $1,652,711.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 789,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,853,688.29. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 128,116 shares of company stock worth $5,205,010 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $42.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of -8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.18.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Equitable from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Equitable and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Equitable from $57.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.82.

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.