Markel Group Inc. Sells 25,000 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Markel Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $21,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 76,913.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $282,212,000 after buying an additional 959,115 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Equifax by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Equifax by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Equifax by 4.9% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 127.1% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $84,947,000 after buying an additional 196,106 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $271.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.27, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $286.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.58. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $180.31 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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.