Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,131,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180,219 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.71% of Equitable worth $108,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,985,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,168,000 after buying an additional 615,314 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Equitable by 53.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 17,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 6,065 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. increased its stake in Equitable by 28.6% during the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 712,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,151,000 after acquiring an additional 158,488 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Equitable in the second quarter valued at $817,000. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $434,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:EQH opened at $46.73 on Tuesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.39 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of -16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.35.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s payout ratio is -39.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equitable from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays set a $58.00 price target on Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 203,770 shares of company stock valued at $9,462,206 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.