Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Buys Shares of 103,170 Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has purchased a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc., acquiring 103,170 shares valued at approximately $5.37 million.
• Recent insider sales included COO Jeffrey J. Hurd selling 6,790 shares and Director Bertram L. Scott selling 2,600 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective positions by 7.11% and 9.09%.
• Equitable Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.0% with a high dividend payout ratio of 87.10%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 103,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,374,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Equitable by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $80,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE EQH traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.41. 1,473,089 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,793,588. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $53.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.09. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $37.99 and a one year high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 1.16.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.