AXQ Capital LP Purchases New Holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Equitable by 298.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,282,137.85. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at $38,534,018.96. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $52.49 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.75 and a 200 day moving average of $47.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.49 and a 12-month high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQH. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Equitable Profile

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.