Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 34.8% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 154.5% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $408,000. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth $344,000. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 14,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,183,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This 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. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $269.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $287.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.22. The company has a market capitalization of $33.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.31 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued 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. 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. Equifax’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

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.