Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Buys 62,040 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations raised its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 85.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,238 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 62,040 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations' holdings in Equitable were worth $6,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Equitable by 49.5% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,012,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $559,232,000 after acquiring an additional 3,645,301 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $101,547,000. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 4,141.8% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,235,243 shares of the company's stock worth $62,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,122 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 337.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,502,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,290,000 after buying an additional 1,158,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,209,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $582,647.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 84,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,425,073.74. This trade represents a 14.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total transaction of $1,652,711.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 789,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,853,688.29. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,116 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,010. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $42.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.18. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.76, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13.

Equitable declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.82.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.