Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $1.27 Million Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 24,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,266,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $703,060,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Equitable by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,012,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,645,301 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,551,551 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 29.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,443,000 after buying an additional 1,254,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 0.3% during the third 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. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EQH shares. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $7,252,416 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $37.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of -7.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.79 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.44.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.