Strategy Asset Managers LLC Invests $823,000 in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group started coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.84.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock opened at $245.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.82. 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 $204.16 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.