VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases New Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 59,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Equitable by 20.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $550,995,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $204,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,902 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 301.2% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 146,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 110,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 3.2% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,464,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,672,000 after purchasing an additional 138,999 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $52.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.03. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week 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.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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 predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -36.25%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total transaction of $1,927,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 753,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,570,181.62. This represents a 5.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Craig C. Mackay sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $113,014.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,999 shares in the company, valued at $975,978.63. The trade was a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 121,794 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,301. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research downgraded Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company’s principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.