BTC Capital Management Inc. Acquires 34,237 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• BTC Capital Management increased its stake in Equitable Holdings by 47.2% in the first quarter, buying 34,237 additional shares and bringing its total position to 106,789 shares worth about $4.0 million.
• Several analysts remain positive on EQH, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64; recent targets from firms like Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Evercore were also in the high $50s to low $60s.
• Equitable reported quarterly EPS of $1.62, slightly ahead of estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.27, though insiders have been selling shares recently.

BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,789 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,237 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Equitable by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price objective on Equitable and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 7,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $310,104.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,694.88. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total value of $609,353.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,369,863.32. This represents a 15.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 216,919 shares of company stock valued at $9,118,088 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 3.5%

EQH stock opened at $43.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.33 and a 200 day moving average of $43.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of -15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $56.61.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Equitable's revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Equitable's payout ratio is currently -42.25%.

About Equitable

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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