Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,278 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,978 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Equitable were worth $7,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $2,215,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $101,547,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 180.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Equitable by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 170,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,647,000 after purchasing an additional 78,104 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $44.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of -9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12. 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 50-day simple moving average of $47.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, 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 value of $1,834,140.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,593.75. This trade represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 203,770 shares of company stock worth $9,462,206. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.