Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 112,910 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5,123.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,910 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Equifax worth $33,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $232,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $282,212,000 after purchasing an additional 959,115 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at $235,000. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Equifax by 3.0% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth $4,602,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $271.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a PE ratio of 60.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $293.46 and a 200-day moving average of $263.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.74%.

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.