BTC Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 20.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,217 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,202 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 6,323.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 540,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,140,000 after purchasing an additional 531,815 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 611,461 shares of the company's stock worth $28,843,000 after purchasing an additional 30,896 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 267.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 20,095 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,909,000. Finally, American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:EQH traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,466,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,283. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 94,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,025,391.80. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 753,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,534,018.96. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,976,400. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.