B&L Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,800 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000. Equifax makes up 1.1% of B&L Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $261.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $273.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.50. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 58.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results 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. The company 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%. Equifax’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.74.

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.