Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Decreases Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd decreased its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 82.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 148,660 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $5,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 612.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE EFX opened at $180.78 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.71. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.74 and a 12 month high of $271.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares in the company, valued at $46,846,252. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EFX. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $173.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.39.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.