Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,555 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $297.83 on Wednesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.34.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax 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 owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.59.

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.