Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Equifax, Inc. by 24%, now holding 8,692 shares valued at approximately $2.12 million, accounting for 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Other large investors such as Lazard Asset Management and GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased their positions in Equifax, with Lazard boosting its stake by 7,883,233.3% in the last quarter.
• Equifax reported earnings of $2.00 per share, surpassing estimates, with a revenue increase of 7.4% year-over-year, amounting to $1.54 billion for the quarter.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,747 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for 0.8% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $241,087,000 after buying an additional 945,988 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 24,315.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $169,541,000 after acquiring an additional 693,243 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Equifax by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Equifax by 115.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 312,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $79,589,000 after purchasing an additional 167,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,003,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax 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 transaction of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $240.10 on Friday. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $259.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.97.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.

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