Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 4,459 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 272,085 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,459 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $48,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $275,635,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Equifax by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $942,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,921 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,819 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 105.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,603,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $347,909,000 after purchasing an additional 823,116 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 91.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,464,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $317,688,000 after buying an additional 697,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of EFX opened at $180.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $150.74 and a one year high of $271.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.71.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Equifax from $256.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.39.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.