Avanza Fonder AB Takes Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,053,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $262.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $258.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.27. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.42, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.66% 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.