Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires Shares of 1,027,594 Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,027,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,472,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned about 0.33% of Equitable as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. grew 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 acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Equitable by 298.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $50.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 620,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,612,161. The company has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.59. 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 announced its 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 company had revenue of $4.58 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.