Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 4.8% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 5.79 million shares valued at $301.54 million.
• In recent insider transactions, both Director Bertram L. Scott and CEO Mark Pearson sold shares, with total sales worth approximately $2.24 million, representing decreases in their respective holdings.
• Equitable stock has a current market cap of $15.79 billion and a recent dividend yield of 2.0%, showing a dividend payout ratio of 87.10%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,789,138 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 265,759 shares during the period. Equitable makes up 0.9% of Acadian Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 1.90% of Equitable worth $301,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter worth $229,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 593.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 6,431 shares of the company's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 5,504 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 1.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,584,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,610,000 after buying an additional 25,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 1,284.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 122,328 shares of the company's stock worth $6,372,000 after acquiring an additional 113,495 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,052,615.43. The trade was a 16.79% 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, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 113,090 shares of company stock valued at $5,953,752. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE:EQH traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $53.69. 710,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,790,254. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.38 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.29 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $52.79 and its 200-day moving average is $52.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.10%.

Equitable 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.