UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 1.0% in the first quarter, owning approximately 2.58 million shares valued at $134.61 million.
• Brokerages have mixed views on Equitable, with JPMorgan Chase raising its price target to $65.00 while Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley lowered theirs to $63.00 and $67.00 respectively.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Mark Pearson selling 39,700 shares for over $2 million, indicating a decrease in personal investment in the company's stock.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,584,190 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,951 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.85% of Equitable worth $134,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQH. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Equitable by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Equitable by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.90.

Equitable Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $54.10 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 1.16. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.51 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $367,271.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 703,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,295,688.45. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152 over the last 90 days. Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.