Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $9 Million Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its Equitable Holdings stake by 91.6% in the second quarter, purchasing 98,023 additional shares to hold 205,053 shares valued at approximately $9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.7% of the company.
• Equitable reported quarterly EPS of $1.70, beating estimates of $1.65, although revenue fell 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a 2.3% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $61.75, above the reported share price of $52.52. Meanwhile, insiders sold 121,794 shares worth approximately $5.84 million during the quarter.

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 91.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,053 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,023 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.08% of Equitable worth $8,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Equitable by 9.1% in the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Equitable by 1.5% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Equitable by 30.2% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $386,550.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total value of $1,927,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 753,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,570,181.62. This represents a 5.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,794 shares of company stock worth $5,844,301. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $52.52 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $49.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.03. The stock has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a PE ratio of -15.87, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $55.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently -36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.75.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company's principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.