Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,412 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $8,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after buying an additional 1,972,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $204,218,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $154,667,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $126,794,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 739,492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $182,869,000 after buying an additional 305,028 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, Director Karen L. Fichuk bought 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $238.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,089.55. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,134.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Karen L. Fichuk purchased 415 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,134.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282 in the last ninety days. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX traded up $9.64 on Thursday, reaching $270.53. 304,199 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 820,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 58.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $243.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.52. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $276.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. Equifax’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

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.