MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 818 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 818 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $9,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Equifax by 138.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Four 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.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.74.

Equifax Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $261.19 on Friday. 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 one year low of $209.68 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $32.37 billion, a PE ratio of 58.04, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $275.28 and a 200-day moving average of $268.43.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 in the last three months. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.