Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 825,844 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 667,239 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.67% of Equifax worth $224,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.47.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,304 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,119. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $264.39. 844,150 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 956,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $170.62 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The business's 50 day moving average price is $289.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.30.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax's dividend 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.