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

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,436,704 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 683,595 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.48% of Equitable worth $72,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 592.6% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Equitable by 64.0% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $41.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.53 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued 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 2.6%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -22.41%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.55.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.