Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases 5,504 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 593.7%, purchasing an additional 5,504 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 6,431 shares worth approximately $335,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group and Allspring Global Investments, have also significantly raised their stakes in Equitable Holdings, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Equities analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with target prices varying from $63.00 to $75.00, while the stock currently holds a "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $64.90.

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 593.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,431 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,504 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Equitable were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 23.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,878,516 shares of the company's stock worth $566,662,000 after acquiring an additional 2,061,496 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 1.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,584,190 shares of the company's stock worth $134,610,000 after acquiring an additional 25,951 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,558,239 shares of the company's stock worth $120,672,000 after acquiring an additional 337,883 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 5,536.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,109,113 shares of the company's stock worth $110,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth about $108,264,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were 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 owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,615.43. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction 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 $4,796,593.02. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $52.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.50 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.99 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Equitable Company 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.

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