Citigroup Inc. Buys 60,382 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 36.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,408 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,382 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $53,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 273.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Equifax by 118.5% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its position in Equifax by 94.4% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, Director Melissa D. Smith bought 914 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $166.27 per share, for a total transaction of $151,970.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,704.22. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Equifax news, Director Melissa D. Smith purchased 914 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $166.27 per share, with a total value of $151,970.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $263,704.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bryson R. Koehler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,662,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $200.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.48, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $183.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.14. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $240.35.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The credit services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 19.15%. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Equifax from $195.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 20th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Equifax from $232.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.20.

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.