First Financial Corp IN Sells 64 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

First Financial Corp IN lessened its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Equifax were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $251.95 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.70 and a 200-day moving average of $272.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.81.

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.