Bayforest Capital Ltd Increases Stock Position in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 593.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,431 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,504 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Equitable were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 0.3% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock worth $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Equitable by 6.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 5.3% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Equitable by 8.4% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Invst LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.55.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at $37,295,688.45. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,090 shares of company stock worth $5,953,752. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of EQH traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 835,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,786,124. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $52.76 and its 200-day moving average is $52.03. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.81 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's payout ratio is 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.