3,728 Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Acquired by Running Oak Capital LLC

Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,244 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $7,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 3,590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Equifax by 0.8% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 13,647 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 3.4% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Equifax from $225.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Argus upgraded shares of Equifax from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Loop Capital set a $169.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.80, for a total transaction of $6,908,377.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 289,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,997,741.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.68, for a total transaction of $710,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,574,963.60. This represents a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,292 shares of company stock worth $8,464,918. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of EFX stock opened at $188.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.67. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.01 and a 1-year high of $228.67.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc is a global data, analytics and technology company best known as one of the major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States. The company traces its history to 1899, when it was founded as the Retail Credit Company, and adopted the Equifax name in 1975.

Equifax provides consumer and business credit information, credit reports and scores, and tools for identity verification and fraud prevention. Its products also help businesses assess risk and make decisions about lending, customer relationships and marketing.

Through its Workforce Solutions business, Equifax provides services such as employment and income verification for lenders, employers and government agencies.