Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 142,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,440 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $36,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 13.5% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 3.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value 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 approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $238.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.28, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $258.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.93.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.13.

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.