Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,448 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Equifax worth $43,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,646,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Equifax by 3.9% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,509 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $13,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Equifax by 16.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 584,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $141,789,000 after purchasing an additional 81,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, 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 transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 in the last three months. 1.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $258.49. The company had a trading volume of 480,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,410. The business's 50 day moving average price is $265.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.33. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a PE ratio of 57.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax's payout ratio is 34.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $311.18.

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.