MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $9.68 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 2.6%, selling 4,872 shares and owning 0.06% of the company worth approximately $9.7 million after the sale.
• Equitable's COO and CEO both sold shares recently, with total insider sales of 143,090 shares valued at around $7.5 million in the last 90 days, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share with a yield of 2.0%, and has an annual payout ratio of 87.10%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,734 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,872 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Equitable worth $9,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQH. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at approximately $108,264,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 5,536.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,109,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071,691 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Equitable by 23.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,878,516 shares of the company's stock worth $566,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,496 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter worth about $99,319,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Equitable by 237.0% during the fourth 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. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:EQH traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.27. 2,445,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,168,874. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.12. 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 fifty-two week low of $37.99 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.96 and a beta of 1.14.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,796,593.02. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total value of $2,106,085.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,295,688.45. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. 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 note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.90.

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.