Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 85.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 278,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,691,386 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $11,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in Equitable by 2.2% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 170,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after buying an additional 3,034 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Equitable by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 161,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,768,000 after buying an additional 34,262 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Equitable by 23,851.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 396,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,661,000 after acquiring an additional 394,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at about $208,000. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $47.44 on Monday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.74 and a fifty-two week high of $50.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.87. The stock has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of -43.52 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Barclays raised their target price on Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,635,021. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,002,342.38. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,166 shares of company stock worth $4,286,705 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.