MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $8.99 Million Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 190,606 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,344 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Equitable worth $8,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Equitable by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.91.

Equitable Stock Performance

Equitable stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,553,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,848. 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 market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.23. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.27.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 743,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,346,877.36. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock worth $4,141,315. Company 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.