Pzena Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 27.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,902,357 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,288,971 shares during the period. Equitable makes up approximately 1.1% of Pzena Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 1.92% of Equitable worth $307,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EQH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303,449 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5,536.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,109,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,691 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 237.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,799 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $52.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,825,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,548,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.15. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.91.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 79.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 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 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,391.80. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equitable Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.