Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 181,443 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 208.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,637 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181,443 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.09% of Equitable worth $13,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $703,060,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $101,547,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,551 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Equitable by 71.5% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,565,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486,286 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,254,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of EQH stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.34, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.36 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.33.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically 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 given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.87, for a total value of $1,436,100.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,958 shares in the company, valued at $5,742,389.46. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research cut shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.27.

About Equitable

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.