Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Acquires 3,164 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.24% of Equifax worth $78,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 14.6% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Equifax by 6.7% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 52,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,310 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $240.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 53.54, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $237.47 and its 200 day moving average is $246.31. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $1,235,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,029,028.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.19.

Equifax 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.