QRG Capital Management Inc. Invests $313,000 in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.47.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $270.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $182.01 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $285.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.47.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

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.