Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock: Insider Mark Begor Sells 37,792 Shares

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.80, for a total transaction of $6,908,377.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 289,922 shares in the company, valued at $52,997,741.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equifax Trading Down 1.8%

Equifax stock traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $175.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,195,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,396. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.01 and a 52-week high of $228.67. The firm has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.95 and a 200 day moving average of $178.25.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.19%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $201.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Loop Capital set a $169.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.55.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.