Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, decreasing by 65.9% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 43,939 shares valued at approximately $2.29 million.
• In contrast, several other large investors have increased their stakes in Equitable, with Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raising its investment by an astounding 5,536.0%.
• Equitable Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 87.10%.

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 65.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,939 shares of the company's stock after selling 84,863 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Equitable were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total transaction of $1,595,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 724,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,521,837.06. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was 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 owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,940,960 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH traded up $0.1680 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.1680. 381,278 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,794,215. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.99 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.19 and a 200 day moving average of $52.13.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio 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.