Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 87,048 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its ownership in Equitable Holdings, selling 87,048 shares, leading to a 7.9% decrease in their stake to approximately 1,017,970 shares valued at about $53 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 92.70% of Equitable's stock, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes substantially in the first quarter.
• Equitable's stock received multiple price target revisions from analysts, with current consensus rating at "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.90.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,017,970 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,048 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.33% of Equitable worth $53,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Equitable by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 673,077 shares of the company's stock worth $31,749,000 after buying an additional 18,136 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Equitable by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,242,692 shares of the company's stock worth $200,128,000 after buying an additional 887,123 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,029,638 shares of the company's stock worth $48,568,000 after buying an additional 405,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Equitable by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 171,481 shares of the company's stock worth $8,089,000 after buying an additional 46,314 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.90.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.75. 2,732,948 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,020,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $37.99 and a one year high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54 and a beta of 1.16.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's payout ratio is 87.10%.

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.