California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 30,896 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 611,461 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,896 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.20% of Equitable worth $28,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,278,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,705,000 after purchasing an additional 535,671 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,032,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $897,752,000 after purchasing an additional 79,999 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,303,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,089,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,560,000 after purchasing an additional 355,078 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of EQH stock traded down $0.20 on Monday, hitting $52.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,466,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,301. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.15. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.43.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Equitable's quarterly revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Equitable's payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total transaction of $237,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,615,702.61. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,976,400. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on EQH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

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.