Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Has $1.35 Million Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings by 47.9% in the first quarter, leaving it with 36,397 shares worth about $1.35 million.
• Equitable reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.62 versus $1.60 expected and revenue of $4.23 billion versus $3.95 billion estimated.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 from $0.27, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $58.64.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 47.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,397 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,431 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in Equitable were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Equitable by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equitable by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Equitable by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 4,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total transaction of $187,501.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 124,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,273,054.10. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $101,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,147,405.48. This trade represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 216,919 shares of company stock valued at $9,118,088. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Stock Down 0.1%

Equitable stock opened at $45.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.05, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $56.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research raised Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.

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