Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $6.12 Million in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 139,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,117,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.05% of Equitable at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Equitable by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 311,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,135 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Equitable by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,274,000 after buying an additional 104,439 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $550,995,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,209,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,294,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,902 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, Director Craig C. Mackay sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $113,014.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $975,978.63. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 1,466 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total transaction of $74,985.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,684.75. This represents a 5.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 114,541 shares of company stock valued at $5,357,784. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $48.84 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $55.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently -36.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $68.00 price objective on Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.