Jensen Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its shareholding in Equifax by 13.4%, selling 164,607 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 1,066,437.
• Insider trading was notable as CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares at an average price of $241.71, representing a decrease of 25.25% in his ownership.
• Equifax earnings for the last quarter exceeded expectations with an EPS of $2.00, surpassing the forecast of $1.92, and recorded a 7.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,066,437 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 164,607 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for about 2.9% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.86% of Equifax worth $259,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position 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 in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the first quarter worth about $209,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 44.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Equifax Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $1.08 on Thursday, hitting $241.66. 772,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,071. 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 company has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 47.29, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $257.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.27. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%. Equifax's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equifax 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.