Assetmark Inc. Purchases 527 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 527 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Equifax by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after acquiring an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Equifax by 4.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after buying an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 2.4% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after buying an additional 70,091 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Equifax by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $405,051,000 after acquiring an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $265.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $32.97 billion, a PE ratio of 59.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $284.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.77. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $189.95 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.47.

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.