SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 803,861 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities slashed its Equitable Holdings position by 89.9% in the first quarter, selling 803,861 shares and ending with 90,015 shares valued at about $3.34 million.
• Equitable reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.62 beating estimates and revenue of $4.23 billion also topping forecasts, even though revenue declined 7.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.27, implying a 2.7% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $58.64.

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 89.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,015 shares of the company's stock after selling 803,861 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Equitable were worth $3,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 299,391 shares of the company's stock worth $15,203,000 after acquiring an additional 59,700 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Equitable by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 311,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,965,000 after acquiring an additional 36,135 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP raised its position in Equitable by 80.7% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 209,769 shares of the company's stock worth $10,652,000 after purchasing an additional 93,660 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. acquired a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth about $26,893,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 25.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 532,833 shares of the company's stock worth $27,057,000 after purchasing an additional 106,967 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE EQH opened at $43.88 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $42.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $56.53. The firm has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of -15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.10.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 232.29% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.The business's revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -42.25%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.44, for a total transaction of $404,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 124,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,023,375.92. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 7,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $310,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $658,694.88. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 216,919 shares of company stock worth $9,118,088 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQH. Barclays lifted 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. Mizuho raised their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Evercore set a $63.00 price target on Equitable and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.64.

Equitable 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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