Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 3,709 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,709 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was 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 owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282 over the last 90 days. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equifax Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $239.77 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $235.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.83.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.19.

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.