Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 1.4%, holding 18,769,261 shares valued at approximately $977.69 million, making it the 24th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Equitable recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding 2.0% annually, with a payout ratio of 87.10%.
• Insider trading activity shows a significant reduction in ownership, with directors and the chief accounting officer selling a total of 143,090 shares valued at about $7.55 million over the past ninety days.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,769,261 shares of the company's stock after selling 263,009 shares during the quarter. Equitable makes up about 0.9% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 6.18% of Equitable worth $977,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 310.2% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 13,120 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 51.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 14,380 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 15.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 154,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 20,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,411.86. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total value of $2,106,085.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,295,688.45. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Equitable Trading Down 0.1%

Equitable stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 881,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,789,430. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.99 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.50 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. 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.