Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Holdings Decreased by American Trust

American Trust cut its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 925 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Equifax were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% in the second 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 last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $265.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.78. The firm has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. 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 (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.67.

Equifax 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.