Auxier Asset Management Purchases New Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Auxier Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,972,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,218,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $154,667,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,794,000. Finally, Kensico Capital Management Corp increased its position in Equifax by 108.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 740,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $135,553,000 after purchasing an additional 384,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.19.

Equifax Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $241.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $236.93 and a 200-day moving average of $244.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $29.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax 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.