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

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,554,890 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 437,322 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $120,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 206.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 5,358 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 359,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,131,000 after buying an additional 113,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of EQH opened at $55.50 on Wednesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.96 and a 52-week high of $55.79. The company has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $315,368.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 125,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,165,071 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.