Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. has increased its holdings in Equifax, Inc. by 3.5%, now owning approximately 1.1 million shares valued at $271.6 million.
• Equifax reported earnings per share of $2.00 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue grew by 7.4% year-over-year to $1.54 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Equifax, with an average price target of $285.00, reflecting a consensus of moderate buy ratings on the stock.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,115,084 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,555 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.90% of Equifax worth $271,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Equifax by 1,464.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter worth about $209,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 19.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 44.2% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $278.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $2.02 on Friday, hitting $239.90. 884,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,139,623. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $256.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.05. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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.