Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,699 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130,161 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Equitable were worth $14,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 1,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total transaction of $1,652,711.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 789,183 shares in the company, valued at $32,853,688.29. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $574,894.32. Following 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 ownership of the stock. 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 128,116 shares of company stock worth $5,205,010 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $42.27 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.39 and a 200-day moving average of $44.18. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Equitable announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Equitable from $57.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Equitable and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.82.

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.