Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stake Lifted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Equifax by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $258.94 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $208.67 and a one year high of $309.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $276.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EFX. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Company Profile

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.