Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Position Decreased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,196 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 292,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $78,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,959,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth approximately $917,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,274,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,257,000 after acquiring an additional 14,629 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Up 0.1 %

EFX stock opened at $297.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 66.27, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $308.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.41.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate 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.