Cresset Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired 4,851 shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc., valued at approximately $253,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Equitable, with nine rating the stock as a Buy and an average price target of $64.90.
• Equitable recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing a dividend yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 87.10%.

Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 0.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock worth $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Equitable by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,278 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Equitable by 6.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Equitable by 5.3% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Equitable by 8.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on EQH. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.90.

Equitable Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of EQH stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,445,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,165,238. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.09. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.99 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 42.96 and a beta of 1.16.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 88,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,593.02. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.