Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $3.78 Million Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P significantly reduced its holdings in Equitable Holdings by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 67,379 shares valued at approximately $3.78 million.
• Equitable's latest quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share was paid on August 12th, representing an annual yield of 2.0% based on its current valuation.
• Insider transactions have occurred with CEO Mark Pearson selling 39,700 shares valued at over $2.1 million, indicating a 5.35% decrease in his ownership stake.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 90.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,379 shares of the company's stock after selling 673,145 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Equitable were worth $3,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,510 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 105,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,891,000 after buying an additional 22,620 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Equitable by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 153,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,606,000 after purchasing an additional 26,300 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.8% in the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 89,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,014,000 after buying an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Equitable by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 721,838 shares of the company's stock worth $40,495,000 after purchasing an additional 15,353 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.22, for a total value of $2,144,455.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 690,678 shares in the company, valued at $37,448,561.16. This represents a 5.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,411.86. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,580 shares of company stock valued at $8,258,518. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of EQH stock traded down $0.15 on Monday, hitting $54.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,984,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,923,245. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.78 and a 200 day moving average of $52.11. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.81 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued 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 yield of 2.0%. Equitable's payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQH shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.55.

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.