Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 46.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,708,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,582,361,000 after acquiring an additional 318,826 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,037,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,714,129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009,987 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 4,570,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,113,205,000 after acquiring an additional 987,772 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 2,801,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $682,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 119.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $354,044,000 after acquiring an additional 790,919 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $231.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $246.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.90. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $281.56. The company has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a PE ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total value of $11,665,891.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.93.

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.