Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Purchases 35,425 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 100.1% in the first quarter, owning a total of 70,824 shares valued at approximately $3.69 million.
• Equitable Holdings reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.35, missing analysts' estimates of $1.49, but achieved a revenue of $4.58 billion, surpassing expectations of $4.05 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27, with a yield of 2.14%, to be paid to investors of record on August 5th, reflecting a payout ratio of 29.35%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 100.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,824 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,425 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5,536.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,109,113 shares of the company's stock worth $110,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,691 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 237.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company's stock worth $82,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,799 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,927,000. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 616.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,245,568 shares of the company's stock worth $58,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071,763 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $48,472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 94,980 shares in the company, valued at $5,025,391.80. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $1,566,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 714,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,304,244.74. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,145,208. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $68.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.30.

Equitable Stock Up 1.4%

EQH stock traded up $0.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.80. 815,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,738,049. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.17.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

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.