Insider Selling: Equitable (NYSE:EQH) CAO Sells 7,300 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Equitable CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 7,300 shares on May 15 at an average price of $42.48, for total proceeds of about $310,104. After the sale, he still held 15,506 shares, a 32.01% reduction in his stake.
• EQH shares were slightly higher in trading, up 0.4% to $42.75 on volume above average. The stock has ranged from $35.19 to $56.61 over the past year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Equitable after the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while the board has also authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program. The current consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $58.18.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 7,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $310,104.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,694.88. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Equitable Stock Up 0.4%

Equitable stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $42.75. 4,271,419 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,709,213. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.73. The company has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of -15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore set a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of Equitable by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.

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