Bank of America Corp DE Makes New $41.37 Million Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 942,782 shares of Equitable Holdings in the second quarter, establishing a new stake valued at approximately $41.37 million and representing 0.35% of the company.
• Equitable reported quarterly EPS of $1.70, beating analyst expectations of $1.65, although revenue fell 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion.
• EQH shares opened at $53.96, near their 12-month high, while analysts maintained a generally positive outlook with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $61.82.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 942,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.35% of Equitable at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 245.2% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE EQH opened at $53.96 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.30, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.68. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $55.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -36.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.82.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, Director Bertram Scott sold 2,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.35, for a total transaction of $151,093.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,279.75. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arlene Isaacs-Lowe sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.83, for a total transaction of $52,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,763 shares in the company, valued at $1,044,079.29. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 72,516 shares of company stock worth $3,658,629 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company's principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.

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