Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 29.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,254,521 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Equitable were worth $308,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Equitable in the second quarter valued at about $29,859,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in Equitable by 3.9% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 89,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 26.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,551 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new position in Equitable during the second quarter valued at $275,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Equitable by 18.5% in the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 197,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,069,000 after buying an additional 30,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $44.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.75 and a 200 day moving average of $51.84. The stock has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 1.17. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.39 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -39.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equitable to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.17, for a total value of $1,912,349.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 689,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,191,056.80. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robin M. Raju sold 36,888 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,991,952.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 140,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,573,932. The trade was a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,168 shares of company stock worth $8,994,990. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.