Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Position Lessened by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in Equifax, Inc. by 2.1%, selling 25,566 shares and now owning a total of 1,203,175 shares valued at approximately $293 million.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Mark W. Begor selling 48,264 shares for over $11.6 million, resulting in a 25.25% decrease in his ownership position.
• Equifax's quarterly earnings topped estimates with an EPS of $2.00, and analysts are predictively optimistic about the company's growth, with a consensus target price of $285.00.

Boston Partners cut its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,203,175 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 25,566 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.97% of Equifax worth $293,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,708,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,582,361,000 after acquiring an additional 318,826 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Equifax by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after acquiring an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $796,075,000 after acquiring an additional 11,861 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Equifax by 119.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $354,044,000 after acquiring an additional 790,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Equifax by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,207,225 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $307,661,000 after acquiring an additional 116,524 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFX. Citigroup lowered their target price on Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $247.74. 648,630 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,253,604. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.03. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.64.

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