Voya Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 31.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140,221 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Equitable worth $15,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equitable in the second quarter valued at $703,060,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 553.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,166,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,889 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,551 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Equitable by 71.5% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,565,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,958,000 after buying an additional 1,486,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Equitable by 29.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,443,000 after buying an additional 1,254,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $48.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of -17.56 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.75. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.39 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). Equitable had a positive return on equity of 107.71% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Mizuho started coverage on Equitable in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Equitable to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total transaction of $328,296.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 61,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,988,658.55. The trade was a 9.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.88, for a total value of $1,900,836.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 665,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,861,506.60. The trade was a 5.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 173,770 shares of company stock valued at $8,120,014 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.