AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 879,813 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. by 85.4% during the 1st quarter, holding approximately $96.98 million worth of the company's stock.
• Insider transactions have seen COO Jeffrey J. Hurd and CAO William James Iv Eckert selling shares, with a total of 143,090 shares worth approximately $7.55 million sold over the last quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive outlooks on Equitable, with a consensus target price of $64.90 and nine analysts rating it as a "Buy."

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 85.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,909,451 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 879,813 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.63% of Equitable worth $96,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,105,018 shares of the company's stock worth $52,124,000 after buying an additional 22,569 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 634,049 shares of the company's stock worth $29,908,000 after buying an additional 260,826 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,020,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 31,541 shares of the company's stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 7,219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $367,271.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at $37,295,688.45. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock worth $7,549,152. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.73. 2,376,883 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,805,196. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.99 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52 and a beta of 1.16.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Equitable's payout ratio is presently 87.10%.

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.