LPL Financial LLC Grows Stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Equifax worth $17,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Equifax in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,533,591.12. This represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Equifax Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of EFX stock opened at $240.10 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.50. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $29.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.99, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.