Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stock Position Reduced by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its stake in Equifax, Inc. by 10.3%, holding approximately 1.46% of the company, valued at $440 million.
• Various hedge funds are adjusting their positions, with Vanguard Group increasing its holdings by 2.2% and JPMorgan Chase & Co. significantly raising theirs by 119.3%.
• Equifax reported earnings of $2.00 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.4% for the last quarter.

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,808,522 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 207,940 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.46% of Equifax worth $440,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 12.0% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,464.7% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,119 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 16,961 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on EFX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $278.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Equifax Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of EFX stock traded up $12.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $253.41. 1,691,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,203,251. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $255.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.53. 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 market capitalization of $31.37 billion, a PE ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.64.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

About Equifax

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.