Franklin Resources Inc. Has $251.48 Million Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 220,109 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.70% of Equifax worth $251,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,646,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.9% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Equifax by 16.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 584,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,789,000 after buying an additional 81,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.67.

Equifax Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $265.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $267.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.01. 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 (NYSE:EFX) last announced 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.