NS Partners Ltd Has $27.92 Million Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

NS Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,010 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Equifax comprises about 1.2% of NS Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. NS Partners Ltd owned 0.08% of Equifax worth $27,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 76,913.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $282,212,000 after purchasing an additional 959,115 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Equifax by 4.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,036,952,000 after buying an additional 200,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 127.1% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $84,947,000 after purchasing an additional 196,106 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EFX. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price 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, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Trading Up 0.8 %

EFX traded up $1.85 on Wednesday, hitting $246.88. The company had a trading volume of 905,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,852. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $30.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.20, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $280.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.82. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.25 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

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.