Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Equifax by 8.5% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Equifax by 14.2% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 126,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,970,000 after acquiring an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Equifax by 85.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,904,000 after purchasing an additional 17,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Equifax by 183.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,002 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,304 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,119. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $269.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $291.37 and a 200 day moving average of $263.96. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.23 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $33.29 billion, a PE ratio of 59.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

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.