Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, owning 451,709 shares worth approximately $23.53 million, marking a 22.5% increase during the first quarter of the year.
• The company's CEO, Mark Pearson, recently sold 39,700 shares which valued at over $2.1 million, contributing to a decrease in his ownership by 5.35%.
• Equitable Holdings has seen mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.90 among nine analysts.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 451,709 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 83,003 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Equitable worth $23,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock worth $4,613,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Equitable by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,278 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 6.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 5.3% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 8.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH traded down $0.7150 during trading on Monday, reaching $52.8750. 2,228,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,087,900. The stock has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.13 and a 200 day moving average of $52.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.99 and a 52 week high of $56.61.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.10%.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.