79,746 Shares in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio initiated a position in Equitable Holdings by purchasing 79,746 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.70% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Equitable receiving a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75, above its reported share price of $52.85.
• Equitable exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.70 in EPS versus the $1.65 consensus estimate, but revenue declined 29.8% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, implying a 2.3% annualized yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 79,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,499,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Equitable by 20.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,274,000 after acquiring an additional 104,439 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Equitable by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 311,976 shares of the company's stock worth $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,135 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $550,995,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,294,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,902 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 301.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 146,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 110,235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research cut Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho set a $68.00 target price on Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total transaction of $647,689.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 74,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,371,882.28. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO William Eckert, IV sold 6,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.83, for a total transaction of $259,346.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $391,779.78. The trade was a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 113,071 shares of company stock worth $5,309,147 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $52.85 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.03 and a 200-day moving average of $43.82. The company has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -36.25%.

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.

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