42,943 Shares in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Bought by Bastion Asset Management Inc.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 42,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,019,000. Equitable accounts for 1.3% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. boosted its stake in Equitable by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Equitable by 298.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,209,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,059. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.15. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $49.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.64.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on EQH. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.08.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 743,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,346,877.36. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock worth $4,141,315. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable 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.