Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys New Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,000. Equifax makes up approximately 1.0% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 1.2% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 5.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $272.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $294.38 and a 200-day moving average of $263.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on EFX. Bank of America lifted their target price on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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.