Insider Selling: Equitable (NYSE:EQH) COO Sells 14,358 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Equitable COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358 shares on May 15 at an average price of $42.44, for proceeds of about $609,354. The sale reduced his ownership by 15.31% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Equitable’s latest earnings topped expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.62 versus the $1.60 consensus and revenue of $4.23 billion versus the $3.95 billion estimate. However, revenue still fell 7.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.18. The company also has a $1 billion share repurchase authorization in place.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total transaction of $609,353.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 79,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,369,863.32. This trade represents a 15.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $42.75. 4,271,419 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,709,213. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.05, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.13. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.73. 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 (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. Equitable's revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Estate Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth approximately $1,688,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Equitable by 20.0% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company's stock worth $23,274,000 after acquiring an additional 104,439 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Equitable by 137.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 201,321 shares of the company's stock worth $7,471,000 after acquiring an additional 116,563 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 25.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 902,568 shares of the company's stock worth $33,494,000 after acquiring an additional 181,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Troluce Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth approximately $7,422,000. 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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