Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Equifax by 1.8% during the first quarter, now holding 292,149 shares valued at approximately $71.16 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Lazard Asset Management and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly increased their positions in Equifax, with Lazard increasing its stake by over 7,883,000%.
• Equifax reported a quarterly revenue of $1.54 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations, and an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00, which was above the consensus estimate of $1.92.

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,149 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,482 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Equifax worth $71,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 3.8% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 9.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 738 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 0.3%

Equifax stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $239.61. 1,606,211 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,958. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.97. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 46.89, 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.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total value of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.