Eagle Bay Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $854,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 28,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,193,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Equifax by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,953,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $247.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $258.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.91.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.81.

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.