Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 5,039 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 27.8%, acquiring an additional 5,039 shares, bringing the total to 23,160 shares valued at $1,206,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have significantly modified their positions in Equitable, with AustralianSuper Pty Ltd. increasing its holdings by 97.6% during the same period.
• Equitable announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 27.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,160 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,039 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Equitable by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 5,724 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 356.0% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 123,341 shares of the company's stock worth $5,818,000 after buying an additional 96,295 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,333,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 191,743 shares of the company's stock worth $9,045,000 after acquiring an additional 125,261 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,391.80. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 135,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,145,208. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.30.

Equitable Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of EQH stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.85. 3,164,053 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,755,606. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.78 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 1.14.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.35%.

Equitable Profile

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.