35,653 Shares in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Acquired by EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.

Key Points

• EFG Asset Management Americas purchased a new stake of 35,653 shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in the third quarter, valued at about $1.81 million per the firm's Form 13F filing.
• Equitable’s board approved a $1.0 billion stock buyback program that authorizes repurchasing up to 7.7% of its outstanding shares.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—selling 152,980 shares in the past three months (including CEO Mark Pearson’s sale of 39,700 shares) while insiders own just 1.10% of the company.

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. purchased a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 35,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of Equitable by 64.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Up 0.3%

Equitable stock opened at $37.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.79 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.71, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12.

Equitable announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $7,252,416. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.64.

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.

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