VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 59,400 Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 59,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH opened at $52.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a PE ratio of -15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.03. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $55.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -36.25%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 14,923 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total value of $794,500.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,856,772.68. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arlene Isaacs-Lowe sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.83, for a total transaction of $52,830.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,763 shares in the company, valued at $1,044,079.29. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 121,794 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,301. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EQH. Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company’s principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.