Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Stock Position Cut by Algebris UK Ltd

Algebris UK Ltd cut its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 666,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,188 shares during the quarter. Equitable makes up about 7.7% of Algebris UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Algebris UK Ltd’s holdings in Equitable were worth $30,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Equitable by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,418,000 after acquiring an additional 338,205 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,513,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,735,000 after purchasing an additional 161,376 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Equitable by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,659,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,351,000 after purchasing an additional 957,828 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,554,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,529,000 after purchasing an additional 437,322 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,220,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,322,000 after buying an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $51.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.48 and a 1 year high of $56.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.75.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,032 shares of company stock worth $5,443,966. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Company 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.