South Dakota Investment Council Has $15.56 Million Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 63.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,327 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 119,444 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned about 0.11% of Equitable worth $15,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth about $703,060,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,551 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,521 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 1.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,297,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,202,000 after purchasing an additional 55,798 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQH. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of EQH opened at $40.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of -8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 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 12-month low of $39.14 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.14.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.