Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 70.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,197 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 292,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $78,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,959,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $917,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $1,274,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,257,000 after buying an additional 14,629 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX opened at $302.17 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $303.88. The stock has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. Equifax’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EFX. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total value of $836,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

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.