JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $72.96 Million Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 90.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,436,704 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 683,595 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $72,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Equitable by 180.7% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 32,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in shares of Equitable by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 241,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,616,000 after buying an additional 50,455 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $1,684,000. Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its stake in Equitable by 28.6% in the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 712,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,151,000 after buying an additional 158,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Equitable by 53.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 17,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research lowered Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.55.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $41.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of -8.53, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.53 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.52.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s payout ratio is -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.87, for a total transaction of $1,436,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,742,389.46. This trade represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Profile

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.