1,023,485 Shares in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Purchased by PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,023,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,209,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Equitable by 180.7% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 32,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 21,127 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 241,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,616,000 after buying an additional 50,455 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,684,000. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 299,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,203,000 after buying an additional 59,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 712,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,151,000 after buying an additional 158,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.82.

Equitable Trading Up 0.0%

EQH opened at $42.22 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.76, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.14.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $574,894.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 89,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,696.12. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total transaction of $1,652,711.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 789,183 shares in the company, valued at $32,853,688.29. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 128,116 shares of company stock worth $5,205,010 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.