Equifax (NYSE:EFX) EVP John Gamble Jr Sells 4,000 Shares of Company Stock

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP John Gamble, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.68, for a total value of $710,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,145 shares in the company, valued at $11,574,963.60. This represents a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equifax Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of EFX traded up $8.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $192.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,168,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,510. The company has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.42. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.01 and a twelve month high of $228.67.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Credit Suisse Group set a $160.00 price objective on Equifax in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equifax from $235.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $343,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 8.3% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Columbia Bank acquired a new position in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,041,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 6.3% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.