Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $43,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% in 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 last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.2% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 1.9 %

EFX stock opened at $258.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.43, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. 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 twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.12.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.18.

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.