Biltmore Family Office LLC Raises Stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 32.2% in the first quarter, owning 23,626 shares valued at approximately $5.75 million.
• Equifax reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00, surpassing expectations and contributing to a revenue of $1.54 billion, which is a 7.4% increase year-over-year.
• Insider activity included CEO Mark W. Begor selling 48,264 shares at an average price of $241.71, reducing his position by 25.25%.

Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 32.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,626 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,750 shares during the quarter. Equifax comprises 1.0% of Biltmore Family Office LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Biltmore Family Office LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $5,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Equifax by 1,464.7% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,119 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 16,961 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total value of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of EFX stock traded up $1.44 on Tuesday, hitting $241.07. 899,060 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,225,270. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.64. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $255.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.52.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on EFX. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.