Crestline Management LP Grows Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Crestline Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,541 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,219 shares during the quarter. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Equitable were worth $1,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Equitable by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE:EQH traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.36. 2,425,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,464. The firm's 50-day moving average is $49.85 and its 200-day moving average is $49.73. The stock has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.15. 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 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Equitable's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQH. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.08.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at $38,534,018.96. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock worth $4,141,315 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Equitable

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.