Investment Management Corp of Ontario Increases Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 138.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,730 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,690 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Equitable were worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQH. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. lifted its stake in Equitable by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Equitable by 298.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.08.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $51.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.85 and its 200 day moving average is $49.73. The firm has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,534,018.96. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,315. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.