Generate Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,437 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after buying an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 127.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $84,947,000 after buying an additional 196,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $282.05 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $294.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $262.95.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.57% 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.