1,445 Shares in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Purchased by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,415,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,489 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $845,041,000 after buying an additional 29,742 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after acquiring an additional 959,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $251,480,000 after acquiring an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.12.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $272.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $33.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $258.00 and its 200-day moving average is $273.87.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

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.