SpiderRock Advisors LLC Sells 3,354 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 20.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,742 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,354 shares during the period. SpiderRock Advisors LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $3,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Equifax by 8.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,827 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,897,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the first quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 48.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 12.7% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 24,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.47.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $270.93. 656,955 shares of the company were exchanged, 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $286.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.15. 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 $33.58 billion, a PE ratio of 60.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. Equifax's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's payout ratio is 34.67%.

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.