Pitcairn Co. Purchases 63 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,754,228,000 after purchasing an additional 137,961 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Equifax by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,703,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,388,695,000 after acquiring an additional 40,642 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Equifax by 1,740.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Equifax by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,572,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $388,949,000 after acquiring an additional 206,037 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’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 $13,143,735.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Karen L. Fichuk bought 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at $789,134.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $6.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $267.53. The stock had a trading volume of 649,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,826. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $243.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.52. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $276.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

About Equifax

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.