The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 627,169 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,439 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.22% of Equitable worth $23,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Equitable by 64.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $47.69 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.79, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 232.29% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.The business had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -42.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 target price on shares of Equitable and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Equitable and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.83, for a total value of $259,346.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,779.78. This represents a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $101,467.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,147,405.48. This represents a 8.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 128,503 shares of company stock worth $5,840,116. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.