Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 49.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 166,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161,402 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Equitable were worth $8,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the second quarter worth approximately $219,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable during the second quarter worth approximately $73,000. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 10.1% during the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 92,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,157,000 after purchasing an additional 8,477 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 159,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,940,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $45.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.77. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.39 and a 1 year high of $56.61.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -22.41%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,593.75. The trade was a 21.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,621,845.95. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.42.

Equitable Profile

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.