Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Bought by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 396,920 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,833 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.13% of Equitable worth $20,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 592.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Equitable by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.27.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $738,593.75. The trade was a 21.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:EQH opened at $41.90 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.69, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.53 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.