The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 3.4%, selling 22,692 shares and owning approximately 0.21% of the company worth $33,879,000 after the sale.
• CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock for over $2 million, representing a 5.35% decrease in his position.
• Equitable Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a yield of 2.0%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 650,385 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,692 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.21% of Equitable worth $33,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQH. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Equitable by 23.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,878,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,496 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,558,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,672,000 after purchasing an additional 337,883 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,071,691 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $108,264,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $99,319,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.90.

Equitable Trading Down 1.2%

EQH stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.40. 3,704,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,888,788. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.99 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.04 and a 200-day moving average of $52.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 43.07 and a beta of 1.16.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.10%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Profile

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.