VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $4.49 Million Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Equitable Holdings, obtaining 80,000 shares valued at approximately $4.49 million in Q2.
• Several analyst ratings have been updated, including Wells Fargo increasing its target price from $63 to $65 and affirming an "overweight" rating.
• Equitable recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.2% as of the latest payment date.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 80,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,488,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 23.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,371 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 26.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,841 shares of the company's stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 7,240 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Equitable by 1.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,315 shares of the company's stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter worth about $2,099,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter worth about $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.45.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $48.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.17 and a 200-day moving average of $51.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.39 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75 and a beta of 1.10.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Equitable's payout ratio is presently 87.10%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,411.86. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.99, for a total transaction of $332,642.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 75,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,679,051.02. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,258 shares of company stock valued at $7,449,913. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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