Pearson Mark 4

What Happened

Mark Pearson, President and CEO of Equitable Holdings (EQH), reported transactions on April 8, 2026. He exercised options to acquire 25,813 shares at $23.18 per share (cost $598,345), and sold 38,313 shares in the open market at a weighted average price of $40.05 for proceeds of $1,534,355. The filing also shows a separate derivative disposition of 25,813 shares at $0 (reported as a derivative transaction).

Key Details

• Transaction date: April 8, 2026; Form 4 filed April 10, 2026 (appears timely — within the normal 2-business-day window).
• Option exercise (code M): 25,813 shares @ $23.18 = $598,345.
• Open-market sale (code S): 38,313 shares @ weighted avg $40.05 = $1,534,355. Executed in multiple trades at $40.00–$40.18 (footnote F3).
• Derivative disposition (code M, $0): 25,813 shares reported disposed at $0 (often reflects net share settlement or tax withholding).
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the provided summary. Footnote F2 notes holdings include Restricted Stock Units and 11,011 shares from the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Footnotes of note: F1 — transactions were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted May 16, 2025; F3 — sale prices were multiple trades with a weighted average; F4 — options granted under the 2019 Omnibus Incentive Plan (vested earlier).

Context

• This sequence (exercise + sale on the same day) is commonly a cashless-style transaction where an insider exercises vested options and sells shares the same day; the $0 derivative disposition typically indicates shares were surrendered for taxes or net settlement.
• The sale was made under an established 10b5-1 plan (adopted 5/16/2025), which is a pre-arranged trading plan and is considered a routine mechanism for insiders to sell shares.
• Sales do not necessarily signal negative views; purchases are generally more informative about insider conviction. This report is factual disclosure of the exercise and sale activity.