Avanza Fonder AB Takes $2.05 Million Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,053,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sendero Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $3,070,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 155,957 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,746,000 after buying an additional 40,843 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, 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 transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 in the last 90 days. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on EFX. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.12.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $262.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $258.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.27. The firm has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.42, a PEG ratio of 2.43 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 one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

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.