Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,391 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,700 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.10% of Equitable worth $15,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in Equitable by 8.2% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 75,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,224,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 64.0% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was 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 directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $7,252,416. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.51 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

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.