Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 767,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,895 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.62% of Equifax worth $225,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Conning Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 4.7% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Equifax by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $253.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $277.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.67 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax 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 approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value 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. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% 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.