Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $72.57 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Equitable Holdings by 5.0% in the first quarter, but still held 1,955,557 shares valued at about $72.6 million.
• Equitable posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.62 versus the $1.60 estimate and revenue of $4.23 billion versus expectations of $3.95 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on EQH, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $60.08; the company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,955,557 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,833 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.69% of Equitable worth $72,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Equitable in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 64.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price target on Equitable from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.08.

Equitable Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $49.00 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.91. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Equitable's payout ratio is presently -42.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total value 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 represents a 16.11% 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, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $101,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,147,405.48. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 128,503 shares of company stock valued at $5,565,789 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Profile

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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