UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 325.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,876 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,703,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,388,695,000 after acquiring an additional 40,642 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $953,612,000 after acquiring an additional 298,846 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Equifax by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,572,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $388,949,000 after purchasing an additional 206,037 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 1.7 %

EFX stock traded down $4.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $264.99. 505,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 825,362. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $276.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.76 billion, a PE ratio of 59.02, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $243.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.43.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $13,143,735.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282 in the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.