Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 273,609 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 8,786.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,723 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 273,609 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Equitable worth $13,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EQH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company's stock worth $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303,449 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 608.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company's stock worth $69,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,466 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 237.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company's stock worth $82,955,000 after buying an additional 1,236,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,927,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 94,980 shares in the company, valued at $5,025,391.80. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,109,411.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 124,998 shares of company stock worth $6,345,563 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equitable Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:EQH traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,870,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,000. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $50.17 and its 200-day moving average is $49.96.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 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 the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.