ING Groep NV Trims Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

ING Groep NV lowered its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 637 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Equifax were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 1.7 %

Equifax stock opened at $242.17 on Thursday. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $275.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, Director Karen L. Fichuk purchased 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,134.85. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen L. Fichuk acquired 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at $789,134.85. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.19.

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.