Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases 10,450 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 27.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Equifax were worth $14,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of EFX stock traded up $5.31 on Thursday, reaching $269.52. 1,036,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 860,144. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $180.31 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a PE ratio of 58.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $287.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.19.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Equifax 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.