Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Shares Acquired by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,275,039 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 546,937 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.73% of Equitable worth $107,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Equitable by 298.3% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.91.

Equitable Trading Down 1.9 %

EQH opened at $46.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.00. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.51 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,315. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.