Polar Capital Holdings Plc Purchases Shares of 196,906 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 196,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,288,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.06% of Equitable as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,672 shares of the company's stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 42,817 shares of the company's stock worth $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 17,095 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 616.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,245,568 shares of the company's stock worth $58,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071,763 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,351,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,600 shares of the company's stock worth $67,387,000 after purchasing an additional 23,631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.13. 691,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,592,708. The company has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.30 and a 200 day moving average of $50.10. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.90, for a total value of $1,587,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 733,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,786,597.40. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total value of $317,101.62. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 101,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,300.22. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,332 shares of company stock worth $5,976,400 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EQH shares. UBS Group raised Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.83.

Equitable Company Profile

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.