Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Takes Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupe la Francaise boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 2.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Equitable by 11.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 0.4% during the second quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 75,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,224,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in Equitable by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 21.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $41.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.42. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of -8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.53 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s payout ratio is -22.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.27.

Equitable Company 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.