Markel Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Markel Group Inc. trimmed its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,850 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Equifax worth $21,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,392 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,827 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,897,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Equifax during the first quarter worth about $746,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 18.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 48.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,343 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,175,000 after purchasing an additional 6,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other 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 transaction of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EFX. UBS Group began 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.47.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $270.93. The company had a trading volume of 656,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,108. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.31 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.58. The company has a market cap of $33.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.