Ashford Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,090 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,790,000.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Equifax
In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.
Equifax Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $4.31 on Tuesday, reaching $260.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 931,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,555. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.87, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.57. The stock's 50-day moving average is $269.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.
Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Equifax Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's payout ratio is 34.67%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.94.
View Our Latest Report on EFX
Equifax Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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