Nick Lane Sells 10,000 Shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) insider Nick Lane sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.44, for a total transaction of $404,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 124,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,023,375.92. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nick Lane also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Nick Lane sold 10,000 shares of Equitable stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $400,400.00.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $41.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of -8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.67.

Equitable announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Equitable by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.91.

Equitable Company Profile

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.