Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,419 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,815,000 after purchasing an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Equitable by 3.5% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,804,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,766,000 after purchasing an additional 637,916 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Equitable by 1,161.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,227,568 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Equitable by 0.3% during 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. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equitable from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.09.

Equitable Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of EQH traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $38.34. 645,438 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,641,767. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.93 and its 200-day moving average is $38.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.43.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total transaction of $394,971.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,814,662.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Profile

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.