Caxton Associates LLP Takes $456,000 Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc., purchasing 8,762 shares valued at approximately $456,000.
• Insider transactions showed significant sales, with Director Bertram L. Scott and COO Jeffrey J. Hurd selling 2,600 and 6,790 shares respectively, reflecting decreases in their ownership positions.
• Equitable recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EQH. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,613,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the director directly owned 26,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $54.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $39.51 and a one year high of $56.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.79 and its 200-day moving average is $52.07.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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