Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 297,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,913 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Equitable were worth $14,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Equitable by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after buying an additional 338,205 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 increased its position in shares of Equitable by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,659,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,351,000 after purchasing an additional 957,828 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Equitable by 20.7% in the fourth 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 lifted its position in Equitable by 2.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,220,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,322,000 after purchasing an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 629,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,536,349.35. The trade was a 4.55 % 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 dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,032 shares of company stock valued at $5,443,966. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:EQH opened at $52.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.39. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $52.75 and a 200 day moving average of $47.89. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.49 and a 52 week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQH. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.