Barclays PLC Increases Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Barclays PLC raised its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 622,055 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 120,557 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.20% of Equitable worth $29,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its holdings in Equitable by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 298.3% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of EQH traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.07. 513,065 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,626,143. The company has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.23. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.17. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Equitable's payout ratio is 25.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock worth $4,141,315. 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.