Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 1.2% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 13.5% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Down 5.3 %

NYSE EFX opened at $248.27 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.13 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.17, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $282.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.22.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.