CIBC Asset Management Inc Buys 24,443 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,282 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,443 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Equifax were worth $63,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Trading Down 1.4 %

EFX opened at $262.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.49 billion, a PE ratio of 58.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $283.54 and a 200-day moving average of $266.74.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on EFX. Bank of America boosted their price target on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% 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.