JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 90.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,436,704 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 683,595 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $72,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Equitable by 180.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 32,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Equitable by 26.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 241,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,616,000 after purchasing an additional 50,455 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter valued at about $1,684,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Equitable by 43.1% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 149,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,580,000 after buying an additional 44,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. increased its position in Equitable by 28.6% in the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 712,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,151,000 after buying an additional 158,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 76,490 shares of company stock valued at $3,587,184 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $37.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.79 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.96. The firm has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12.

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 paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Company 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.