Guggenheim Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 64.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Equifax by 118.5% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Bryson R. Koehler sold 10,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,662,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.38, for a total transaction of $1,409,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,076,864.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryson R. Koehler sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,662,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,500 shares of company stock worth $3,912,985 over the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of EFX opened at $206.83 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $240.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $211.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.20. The firm has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.67, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.44.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The credit services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 5th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 36.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EFX. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Equifax from $204.00 to $221.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Equifax from $260.00 to $239.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 21st. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Equifax from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Equifax from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.63.

Equifax 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.