Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys 48,771 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 534.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,771 shares during the period. Equitable makes up approximately 0.7% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $3,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $29,939,000. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $7,512,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter worth $338,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 513,391 shares of the company's stock worth $24,217,000 after purchasing an additional 60,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter worth $4,333,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.67.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $55.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,196,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,369. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $52.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $56.79. The firm has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 79.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 743,206 shares in the company, valued at $35,346,877.36. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 117,332 shares of company stock worth $5,993,760 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is 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.