82,100 Shares in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System disclosed a new stake in Equitable Holdings, buying 82,100 shares valued at about $3.05 million in the first quarter.
• Equitable reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.62 per share and revenue of $4.23 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.27.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $58.64, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 82,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,047,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,258,124 shares of the company's stock worth $822,351,000 after buying an additional 1,132,861 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Equitable by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,545,628 shares of the company's stock worth $645,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532,791 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at about $550,995,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,889,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,996,000 after acquiring an additional 22,087 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Equitable by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,822,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,812,000 after purchasing an additional 193,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE EQH opened at $43.97 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The company has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.48, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.11. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.19 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is -42.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 4,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total value of $187,501.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,273,054.10. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total transaction of $647,689.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 74,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,882.28. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 216,919 shares of company stock valued at $9,118,088 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Evercore set a $63.00 price target on Equitable and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.64.

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.

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