LSV Asset Management Sells 21,500 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,500 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.08% of Equitable worth $11,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,215,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth approximately $101,547,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 180.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 11.2% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 84.7% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 170,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,647,000 after acquiring an additional 78,104 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQH. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at $738,593.75. This trade represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This trade represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 203,770 shares of company stock valued at $9,462,206. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $44.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of -9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.39 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.89.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.