Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,301 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,592 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Equifax worth $24,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Equifax by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 23.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the second quarter valued at $15,646,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Equifax by 3.9% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,216,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Equifax by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 23,555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,711,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last three months. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $266.82 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $270.48 and a 200-day moving average of $269.33. The company has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.29, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EFX. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.94.

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.