Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,291 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125,700 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Equitable were worth $13,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EQH. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Equitable by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after acquiring an additional 338,205 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 3.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,513,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,735,000 after purchasing an additional 161,376 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,659,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,351,000 after purchasing an additional 957,828 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,554,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,529,000 after purchasing an additional 437,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,220,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,322,000 after buying an additional 54,380 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH opened at $51.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.47. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.49 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,534,018.96. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,282,137.85. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

About Equitable

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.