Barclays PLC Buys 5,097 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Barclays PLC raised its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Equifax worth $54,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.95. The stock had a trading volume of 816,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,433. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $311.67.

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.