BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,143 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Equifax were worth $42,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 76,913.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $282,212,000 after acquiring an additional 959,115 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 37.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 127.1% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $84,947,000 after purchasing an additional 196,106 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 606,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $147,166,000 after buying an additional 130,249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $261.19 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.68 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $275.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.43. The company has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business’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 firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group began coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.74.

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.