Allstate Corp Makes New $1.15 Million Investment in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,465 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $334,521,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Equifax by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,966,903 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,881,966,000 after purchasing an additional 258,572 shares during the last quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP bought a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,935,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.9% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,726,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,928,000 after purchasing an additional 140,427 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 326.0% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 172,333 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,698,000 after purchasing an additional 131,882 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $234.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Equifax from $285.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 4,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.94, for a total value of $1,176,779.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,405,634.16. This trade represents a 11.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 27,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.10, for a total transaction of $6,461,324.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,032,047.40. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,270 shares of company stock worth $12,580,837. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 1.8%

Equifax stock opened at $212.05 on Thursday. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $281.07. The company has a market capitalization of $25.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.10. Equifax had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.