Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 85.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,501 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Equifax were worth $9,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Equifax during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX traded up $2.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $284.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,464,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 714,422. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.39, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $287.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.11.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on EFX. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, insider John W. Gamble, Jr. 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider John W. Gamble, Jr. 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total value of $836,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,263,083.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,238 shares of company stock worth $2,647,378 in the last ninety days. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.