Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired 142,118 shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc., valued at approximately $7.4 million, marking a significant investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Insiders of Equitable sold a total of 143,090 shares worth about $7.5 million in the past ninety days, reflecting notable transactions among management members.
• Equitable Holdings has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a payout ratio of 87.10% and an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 142,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,403,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EQH. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,295,688.45. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,090 shares of company stock worth $5,953,752 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.90.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $53.87. The stock had a trading volume of 448,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,788,594. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.44 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is $52.79 and its 200 day moving average is $52.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.38 and a twelve month high of $56.61.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Equitable's 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.