Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Stock: New York Life Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 171,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,858 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $8,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,369,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,274,000 after purchasing an additional 104,439 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $874,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,499,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,840,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $55.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $56.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.27. Equitable had a negative return on equity of 3,089.96% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $3.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was up 167.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Monday, November 23rd will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, Director Arlene Isaacs-Lowe sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.83, for a total transaction of $52,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,044,079.29. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 14,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total transaction of $794,500.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 110,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,856,772.68. The trade was a 11.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,703 shares of company stock worth $1,106,964. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Friday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.50.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc. is a financial services company focused on retirement, protection and wealth management. Through its Equitable business, it offers products and services including life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and retirement planning solutions to individuals, employers and institutions. The company also has a majority ownership interest in AllianceBernstein, an investment management and research firm that serves institutional and individual clients. AllianceBernstein operates internationally, while Equitable’s insurance and retirement businesses primarily serve customers in the United States.