Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 8,467 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,626 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,467 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Equifax were worth $13,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Equifax by 8.5% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 23.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $15,646,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Equifax by 3.9% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,509 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $13,216,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 16.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 584,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $141,789,000 after buying an additional 81,966 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm's 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 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 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 in the last three months. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX traded up $0.52 on Friday, hitting $265.81. 816,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,433. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $267.78 and a 200-day moving average of $270.01. The stock has a market cap of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. 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 (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.