Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,668 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $31,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $263.87 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $276.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.36. The stock has a market cap of $32.71 billion, a PE ratio of 58.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.67 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

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.