Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) is Knuff & Co LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Knuff & Co LLC lessened its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for 2.5% of Knuff & Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $6,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 19.9% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,657 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 4.6% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,885 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Equifax by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 199,371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,521,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $134,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.19.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EFX traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.05. The stock had a trading volume of 730,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,132. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.57, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.48. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

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.