Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Shares Acquired by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 73.0%, acquiring an additional 61,046 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 144,668 shares valued at $7,536,000.
• Equitable reported $1.35 EPS for the latest quarter, missing analyst estimates by $0.14, although its revenues exceeded expectations at $4.58 billion, a 105.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, resulting in a 2.05% yield for investors, with a payout ratio of 29.35%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 73.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,668 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 61,046 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Equitable were worth $7,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at $2,094,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 27.8% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,127,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the first quarter worth about $2,599,000. Finally, Four Tree Island Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 421,462 shares of the company's stock worth $21,954,000 after purchasing an additional 15,612 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $264,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 139,073 shares in the company, valued at $7,358,352.43. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Equitable stock traded up $1.39 on Thursday, hitting $51.79. The stock had a trading volume of 605,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,741,848. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.40 and a 200 day moving average of $52.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.15.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.