Bruni J V & Co. Co. Takes Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Bruni J V & Co. Co. acquired 766,929 shares of Equitable Holdings during the second quarter, valued at approximately $33.7 million and representing about 0.28% of the company.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 92.7%, while company insiders have sold 114,541 shares worth about $5.36 million over the past 90 days.
• Equitable beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.70 versus the $1.65 consensus, and maintains a $0.30 quarterly dividend. Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $61.17.

Bruni J V & Co. Co. bought a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 766,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,652,845,000. Equitable makes up approximately 3.1% of Bruni J V & Co. Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Bruni J V & Co. Co. owned about 0.28% of Equitable as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 311,976 shares of the company's stock worth $14,965,000 after buying an additional 36,135 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Equitable by 20.0% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,274,000 after acquiring an additional 104,439 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $550,995,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $49,209,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable by 114.8% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,294,644 shares of the company's stock worth $204,640,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294,902 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 947 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $50,077.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,419 shares in the company, valued at $445,196.72. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $386,550.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 114,541 shares of company stock worth $5,357,784. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $50.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.39, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.09. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $55.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $47.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.34.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research cut Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.17.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.

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