Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,600 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Equitable were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Equitable by 298.3% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Equitable by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $53.66 on Thursday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.72 and a fifty-two week high of $54.82. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.64.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. The trade was a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,536,349.35. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.67.

Equitable Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.