Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Equitable by 5.4% in Q4 to 674,293 shares (about $32.13M), and institutional investors own roughly 92.7% of the company.
• Equitable's Board authorized a $1.00 billion share repurchase program (up to ~7.7% of outstanding shares) and the firm pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 (annualized $1.08, ~2.6% yield).
• Insiders sold 102,371 shares worth about $4.34M last quarter (including sales by the CEO and COO), while analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $56.91.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 674,293 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,115 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Equitable worth $32,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Equitable by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,822,908 shares of the company's stock worth $229,812,000 after purchasing an additional 193,640 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,869,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,335 shares of the company's stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $897,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $42.00 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.19 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.79.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equitable from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 target price on Equitable and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.91.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $574,894.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 89,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,696.12. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 102,371 shares of company stock worth $4,343,870 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Equitable

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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