Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 346,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,827 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $17,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter valued at about $703,060,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in 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. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,867,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,179,000 after acquiring an additional 12,370 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,297,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,202,000 after purchasing an additional 55,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $7,252,416. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.51 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.76 and a 200-day moving average of $47.58. The company has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -22.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.64.

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.