Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,759 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,012,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,645,301 shares in the last quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Equitable in the third quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Inceptionr LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 289.7% during the third quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 33,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 24,947 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 58.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 27,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 10,090 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,813,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Equitable Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE EQH opened at $39.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.19, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.51 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

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

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Company 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.