Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 697,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,212 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $36,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth about $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Equitable by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303,449 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 5,536.0% in 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. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 237.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,799 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,927,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Down 0.0%

EQH stock opened at $55.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. Equitable’s revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.64.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,615.43. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total transaction of $1,595,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 724,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,521,837.06. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 117,332 shares of company stock worth $5,993,760 over the last ninety days. 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.