Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP Sells $143,474.89 in Stock

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Equifax Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:EFX traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 559,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,628. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a PE ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $276.01 and a 200-day moving average of $268.48. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.68 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EFX. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.74.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Equifax by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,415,284,000 after buying an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Equifax by 4.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after acquiring an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 37.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after purchasing an additional 70,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,041,000 after purchasing an additional 29,742 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.