Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 97.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 152,488 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.63.

Equifax Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:EFX opened at $253.50 on Thursday. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.68 and a 200 day moving average of $253.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.84, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

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.