ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Decreases Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,791 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,284 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $5,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,754,228,000 after acquiring an additional 137,961 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Equifax by 4.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $738,184,000 after purchasing an additional 70,091 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 72.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 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 Equifax 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $1.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $268.80. The company had a trading volume of 102,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,120. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $284.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.78. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 59.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $189.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released 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 net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid 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 0.58%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.47.

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.