IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,572 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equitable by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,815,000 after buying an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 10.0% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 26,902,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450,484 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 1,161.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,692,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Equitable by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,553,000 after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,942,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 619,625 shares in the company, valued at $20,063,457.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Equitable news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $170,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,367.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,942,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 619,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,063,457.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 241,907 shares of company stock worth $8,338,649. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.89. 2,171,756 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,223,219. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.55. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.89 and a 52-week high of $38.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 26.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.