Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 40,843 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,957 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 40,843 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.13% of Equifax worth $39,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Down 0.5 %

EFX stock traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $262.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 712,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 894,842. The company's fifty day moving average price is $258.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.86. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.42, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.57.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. Equifax's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Equifax's payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EFX. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equifax from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $320.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $311.12.

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.