Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 54,434 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,825,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 54,434 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for about 3.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $536,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 2.4% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $738,184,000 after buying an additional 70,091 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 72.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 633,887 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after acquiring an additional 959,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group began coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

Equifax Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $245.29 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.16 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.70.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.66% 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.