KBC Group NV Increases Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 128.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,326 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,308 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Equifax were worth $10,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Equifax Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded down $13.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $248.27. 2,114,688 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,279. The company's 50-day moving average is $282.67 and its 200-day moving average is $267.22. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.17, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.13 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.