LMR Partners LLP Makes New Investment in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,476,000 after acquiring an additional 78,725 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $29,939,000. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $7,512,000. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $305,000. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upgraded Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.08.

Equitable Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:EQH opened at $54.39 on Wednesday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.15. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.83.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,109,411.76. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,534,018.96. The trade was 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 83,332 shares of company stock worth $4,141,315. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.