Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Takes Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 64,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,257,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at $738,593.75. This represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Up 0.8%

Equitable stock opened at $45.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.39 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Zacks Research downgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.42.

Equitable Company 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.