Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 3,135 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 84.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,135 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd 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. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $253.58 on Monday. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.67 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.67%.

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.