Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 66.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,622 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,843 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Equifax during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $290.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.88 billion, a PE ratio of 64.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $292.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.76. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was 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 owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.11.

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.