Empire Life Investments Inc. Makes New $1.68 Million Investment in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax, purchasing 6,889 shares valued at approximately $1.68 million during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including DAVENPORT & Co LLC and Teacher Retirement System of Texas, increased their stakes in Equifax significantly during the same period.
• Equifax's stock received mixed analyst ratings, with target prices ranging from $240 to $295, reflecting varying outlooks on the company's performance.

Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,889 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,678,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.8% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Equifax by 9.5% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 738 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on EFX. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $240.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,018,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,159. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $257.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.50. The stock has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.06, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.64.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities 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.