Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 171.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,957 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,028 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $258.70 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.77.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Equifax’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.