Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 119.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 138,961 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Equifax were worth $35,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.5% during 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. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Equifax by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 13,647 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in Equifax by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Loop Capital set a $169.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Credit Suisse Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Equifax from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.55.

Equifax Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of EFX opened at $188.03 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.18 and its 200 day moving average is $176.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.01 and a 12-month high of $228.67. The company has a market capitalization of $22.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.27.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 289,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,997,741.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 valued at $8,464,918. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Equifax

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.