Allianz Asset Management GmbH Reduces Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 402,601 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,425 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.32% of Equifax worth $98,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Equifax by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,158 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,994,000 after buying an additional 3,724 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Equifax by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 178,846 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,577,000 after buying an additional 10,713 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,794,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $278.00 target price on shares of Equifax and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $247.66. The company had a trading volume of 923,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,035. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $263.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.15. The company has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a PE ratio of 48.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Company 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.