Pitcairn Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,449 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter worth $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $258.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.67 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.36. The firm has a market cap of $32.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Equifax Company 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.