Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 767,136 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 88,895 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.62% of Equifax worth $225,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 0.3% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,749,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $253.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 773,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,372. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $277.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.95. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.67 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm's 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. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group began coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.74.

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.