Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Boosts Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,487 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Equifax were worth $6,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after buying an additional 1,972,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $204,218,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $154,667,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $126,794,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 739,492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $182,869,000 after buying an additional 305,028 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $254.30. The stock had a trading volume of 40,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,263. The business’s fifty day moving average is $239.51 and its 200-day moving average is $246.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.70, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.56. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.47.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was 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 owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,623,649. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total value of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282 over the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.