Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,447 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,070,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 271.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded down $4.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $260.60. The company had a trading volume of 933,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,559. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $269.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.53. 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 stock has a market cap 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.

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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on EFX. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.94.

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.