J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Invests $897,000 in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 18,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in Equitable by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,012,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,232,000 after buying an additional 3,645,301 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at about $101,547,000. London Co. of Virginia grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 4,141.8% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,235,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,122 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 337.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,502,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 122.8% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,768,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,223,000 after purchasing an additional 974,827 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 76,490 shares of company stock valued at $3,587,184 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH opened at $37.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.54 and its 200 day moving average is $45.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Equitable in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.55.

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.