Centiva Capital LP Purchases 5,028 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 171.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,957 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,028 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Equifax were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 55.5% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,448 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 8.0% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Equifax by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,002 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 75.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 507 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $15,770,648.96. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $2.00 on Tuesday, reaching $260.70. 246,825 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,750. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $272.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.83. 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 firm has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFX. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $306.74.

About Equifax

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.