Kempner Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Kempner Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,779 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,606 shares during the quarter. Equitable comprises approximately 2.8% of Kempner Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Kempner Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $4,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,278,436 shares of the company's stock worth $1,003,705,000 after purchasing an additional 535,671 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,032,270 shares of the company's stock worth $897,752,000 after purchasing an additional 79,999 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Equitable by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Equitable by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,089,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,560,000 after acquiring an additional 355,078 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,946,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,549,216. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.96.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $264,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,358,352.43. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 743,206 shares in the company, valued at $35,346,877.36. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,781,400 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.67.

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.