Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,990 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Equitable worth $11,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $831,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Equitable by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 36,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 25,678 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 94.6% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 134,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,484,000 after purchasing an additional 65,232 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Equitable by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 62,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 22,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Equitable by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,742,000 after purchasing an additional 249,639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $46.72 on Thursday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.18 and a 12-month high of $50.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.86 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $148,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,321 shares in the company, valued at $819,596.82. This represents a 15.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total transaction of $316,834.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,709,605 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.70.

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.