Fmr LLC Has $950.27 Million Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Fmr LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 880,162 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 2.61% of Equifax worth $950,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.74.

Equifax Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $276.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.48. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.68 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.04, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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