Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 18,273 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 343,885 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,273 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Equitable were worth $16,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Equitable during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE EQH opened at $37.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.78. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of -7.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.11. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,490 shares of company stock worth $3,587,184. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.