QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,998 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equitable by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,815,000 after purchasing an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Equitable by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,804,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,766,000 after buying an additional 637,916 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at about $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Equitable by 1,161.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,692,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Equitable by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,553,000 after acquiring an additional 18,475 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,775.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,132,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,654,815. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.04. The stock has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.43. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $44.50.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Equitable Company 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.