Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stock position in Equitable Holdings by 23.7% in the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 329,454, valued at approximately $17.16 million.
• Equitable's CEO, Mark Pearson, sold 39,700 shares recently, reducing his ownership by 5.35%, while the overall insider ownership stands at only 1.10% following significant sales by other executives.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Equitable, with JPMorgan raising its target from $55 to $65, and the stock now has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $64.90.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,454 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 63,162 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.11% of Equitable worth $17,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 154.3% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $54.10. 2,230,063 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,663,625. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.79 and a 200-day moving average of $52.05. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.51 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total value of $2,106,085.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,295,688.45. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.