Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Raises Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,922 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 378.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $264.69 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $179.13 and a 52 week high of $309.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a PE ratio of 58.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $289.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.49.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,304 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,119. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EFX. 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

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.