South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 119,444 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 306,327 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 119,444 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Equitable were worth $15,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth about $703,060,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,551 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Equitable by 29.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,521 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 0.3% during the third quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,867,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,179,000 after acquiring an additional 12,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 1.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,297,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,202,000 after purchasing an additional 55,798 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,593.75. The trade was a 21.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.27.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $40.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of -8.40, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.84 and a 200-day moving average of $48.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.14 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

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.