Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 9.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 122,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,800 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Equitable were worth $6,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service lifted its position in Equitable by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 500,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,412,000 after acquiring an additional 98,711 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $371,000. Smith Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 6.7% in the third quarter. Smith Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 71,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after buying an additional 4,533 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 139,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,070,000 after buying an additional 11,024 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Equitable by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 53,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.23.

Equitable Stock Up 5.0%

EQH stock opened at $45.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.39 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 140.87% and a negative net margin of 11.83%.Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 203,770 shares of company stock worth $9,462,206. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.