PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $8,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $13,143,735.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.19.

Equifax Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $239.05 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $275.10. The stock has a market cap of $29.55 billion, a PE ratio of 53.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $236.24 and a 200 day moving average of $245.77.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

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.