SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,853 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,537 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $368,000. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Equifax by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 73,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,816,000 after purchasing an additional 44,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $273.84 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $259.83 and its 200-day moving average is $274.76.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.88.

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.