Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Shares Purchased by Benson Investment Management Company Inc.

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,133 shares during the quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $5,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equitable from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.91.

Equitable Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $41.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of -8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.72. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $582,647.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,073.74. The trade was a 14.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 128,116 shares of company stock valued at $5,386,439. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Equitable

Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded EQH from “market perform” to “strong-buy” with a $58 price target (implying ~39% upside from current levels), which is a clear bullish catalyst for investors. Raymond James Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Management and counterpart Corebridge have discussed potential share buybacks ahead of the pending Corebridge–Equitable transaction; buyback talk typically supports the share price by reducing float and signaling confidence in valuation. Buybacks & Merger Discussion
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed (all executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans): COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358 shares (~$40.58 avg), Nick Lane sold 10,000 shares (~$40.44 avg), and CEO Mark Pearson sold 1,387 shares (~$40.03 avg). Because these were planned 10b5‑1 trades the market impact is muted, but such filings can still raise short-term selling pressure. Filing links: Hurd SEC Filing Lane SEC Filing Pearson SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and fundamental headwinds: the 50‑day moving average (~$40.06) sits below the 200‑day (~$44.79) and key metrics show negative earnings (negative P/E) and high reported leverage; these factors can limit upside and contribute to continued selling pressure despite positive headlines.

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.