Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Buys New Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $248.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $282.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.15, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $197.13 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on EFX. Barclays increased their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was 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 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

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.