66,618 Shares in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Purchased by M&G Plc

M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 66,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,854,000. M&G Plc owned 0.05% of Equifax as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Equifax by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,940 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Equifax by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,839 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,142,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Equifax by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.24.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded down $3.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $260.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,301,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,869. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.18 billion, a PE ratio of 57.97, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $276.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued 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 was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

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.