Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in Equitable by 9.2% in Q3, selling 366,602 shares and now holds 3,634,554 shares (~1.27% of the company) worth $184.6 million.
• Equitable declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share (annualized $1.08, yield 2.7%; ex-dividend Mar 4, pay Mar 11) and its board authorized a $1.00 billion share buyback program, representing up to 7.7% of outstanding shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $60.64, though recent individual price targets range roughly from $54 to $67.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,634,554 shares of the company's stock after selling 366,602 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.27% of Equitable worth $184,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 592.6% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Equitable by 64.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $39.34 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.16, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.77. 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 $37.51 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable's payout ratio is -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total value of $203,261.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,593.75. This represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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