Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Grows Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 338.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,886 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.7% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 13.5% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 0.9 %

Equifax stock traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $261.19. The stock had a trading volume of 559,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,629. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $275.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $209.68 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

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.