Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $17.62 Million Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,827 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of Equitable worth $17,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth $703,060,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at about $101,547,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Equitable by 26.4% in 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 increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,486,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,443,000 after buying an additional 1,254,521 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This trade represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $7,252,416. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.58. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.51 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12.

Equitable announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Wall Street Zen raised Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.64.

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.