Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Stake Increased by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 299,391 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,700 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Equitable were worth $15,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EQH. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Equitable by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Equitable by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $7,252,416 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

Equitable Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.58. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.51 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

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.