Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 41.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,886 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,885 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Equifax were worth $12,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Equifax by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 85.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,902 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,904,000 after purchasing an additional 17,501 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Equifax by 183.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,552,000 after buying an additional 11,002 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 23.0% in 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 buying an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth $15,646,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $261.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 734,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $273.71 and its 200-day moving average is $268.64. The firm has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.74.

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.