Crestline Management LP Raises Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Crestline Management LP raised its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,541 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,219 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Equitable were worth $1,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Equitable by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303,449 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 608.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company's stock worth $69,289,000 after buying an additional 1,261,466 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 237.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.81. The company had a trading volume of 989,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,958,830. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $56.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.83. The company has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total value of $237,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,615,702.61. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01% 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 valued at $4,141,315. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upgraded Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.08.

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.