Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,999,742 Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,999,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,547,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Equitable as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth $703,060,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,551 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 29.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,521 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,985,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,168,000 after purchasing an additional 615,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Equitable by 71.5% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,565,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486,286 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $45.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a PE ratio of -9.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.15.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently -22.41%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of Equitable 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 203,770 shares of company stock worth $9,462,206 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.23.

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.