7,485 Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Key Points

• Inspire Investing cut its Equifax stake by 50.2% in the third quarter, selling 7,485 shares and retaining 7,417 shares valued at approximately $1.02 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.2%, with major investors including BlackRock, Soroban Capital Partners, and Bank of America increasing or initiating positions.
• Equifax reported quarterly earnings of $2.26 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 9.6% year over year to $1.69 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $200.55.

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,417 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,485 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 310.5% in the first quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $753,515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165,120 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 36.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $379,490,000 after purchasing an additional 563,880 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791,379 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $322,574,000 after purchasing an additional 67,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at $290,868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $178.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $166.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.01 and a 12-month high of $238.94.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,577.80. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EFX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equifax from $235.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equifax from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.55.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.

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