29,444 Shares in Equifax, Inc. $EFX Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 29,444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Americana Partners LLC raised its position in Equifax by 6.3% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 1,169.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,745,000 after buying an additional 18,425 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 851 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP John Gamble sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This represents a 6.12% 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. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,792 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.80, for a total value of $6,908,377.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 289,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,997,741.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 46,292 shares of company stock valued at $8,464,918 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Trading Down 2.1%

EFX stock traded down $4.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $189.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,246,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,650. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.32 and a 200-day moving average of $176.79. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $137.01 and a one year high of $228.67. The stock has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 36.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $235.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $214.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.55.

Equifax 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.