Equifax (NYSE:EFX) EVP John Gamble, Jr. Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP John Gamble, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.68, for a total value of $710,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,145 shares in the company, valued at $11,574,963.60. This represents a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX traded up $8.01 on Monday, hitting $192.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,168,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,510. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.42. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $137.01 and a one year high of $228.67. The stock has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFX. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter worth about $343,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Columbia Bank bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $247,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,041,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Loop Capital set a $169.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.55.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.