Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Acquires Shares of 18,352 Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.87, for a total transaction of $1,436,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,958 shares in the company, valued at $5,742,389.46. This represents a 20.01% 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 valued at $7,455,677 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $41.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.53 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.42.

Equitable declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EQH. Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.27.

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.