Private Advisor Group LLC Takes $234,000 Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $269.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $287.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.22. The company has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a PE ratio of 59.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.31 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.