Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,652,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,688 shares during the period. Equitable makes up about 0.7% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 5.74% of Equitable worth $762,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 1,421.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 261.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 2.7 %

Equitable stock opened at $42.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.89 and a 200 day moving average of $39.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 87.49%. The company’s revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,555 shares in the company, valued at $27,263,672.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $429,564.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,918,964 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group lowered shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.