Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 14,913 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,913 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.09% of Equitable worth $14,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $52.49 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.49 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.75 and its 200 day moving average is $47.89. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released 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 net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,032 shares of company stock valued at $5,443,966 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.