LGT Group Foundation Acquires Shares of 4,579 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,579 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $953,612,000 after acquiring an additional 298,846 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Equifax by 72.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $297.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $308.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $277.87 and a 200-day moving average of $257.18. The company has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

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.