National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 29,006 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,972 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,006 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.05% of Equifax worth $19,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $4.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $260.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 933,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,559. The company has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.57. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $269.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.53. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction 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 $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.94.

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.