Advent International L.P. Invests $26.89 Million in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Advent International bought 529,600 shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in Q3 valued at about $26.89 million, representing roughly 0.18% of Equitable and 0.5% of Advent’s portfolio (its 19th largest holding).
• Equitable’s board authorized a $1.00 billion stock buyback allowing repurchase of up to 7.7% of shares, a move management framed as a sign the stock may be undervalued.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently: CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares (~$1.83M) and COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 6,790 shares, with insiders selling 152,980 shares (~$7.25M) over the past 90 days (insider ownership ~1.1%).

Advent International L.P. bought a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 529,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,893,000. Equitable accounts for about 0.5% of Advent International L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Advent International L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Equitable as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its stake in Equitable by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $7,252,416 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 0.3%

EQH stock opened at $37.18 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.79 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of -7.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $44.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -22.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EQH shares. Barclays cut their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.64.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.

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