Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Sold by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Equitable Holdings stake by 84.5% in the second quarter, selling 675,241 shares and retaining 123,616 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Other institutional investors increased their positions, and institutional ownership reached 92.7%; however, insiders sold approximately $5.8 million in stock over the past 90 days.
• Equitable reported quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding estimates, and declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $61.75.

Amundi trimmed its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 84.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,616 shares of the company's stock after selling 675,241 shares during the period. Amundi's holdings in Equitable were worth $5,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Equitable by 20.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,274,000 after acquiring an additional 104,439 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $550,995,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,294,644 shares of the company's stock worth $204,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,902 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 301.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 146,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 110,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,464,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,672,000 after purchasing an additional 138,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, Director Craig C. Mackay sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $113,014.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $975,978.63. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William Eckert, IV sold 947 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $50,077.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,419 shares in the company, valued at $445,196.72. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 121,794 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,301. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $53.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.09. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently -36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.75.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company's principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.

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