AXQ Capital LP Acquires Shares of 28,791 Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 28,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,462,000. Equitable accounts for about 0.6% of AXQ Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its stake in Equitable by 64.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,621,845.95. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,593.75. The trade was a 21.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Down 9.2%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $40.17 on Tuesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.75 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.56 and its 200 day moving average is $48.59. The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12.

Equitable announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.42.

About Equitable

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.