Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stock Position Lifted by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Equifax, acquiring an additional 3,740 shares, bringing its total holdings to 21,469 shares worth approximately $5.23 million.
• Equifax's CEO, Mark W. Begor, sold 48,264 shares at an average price of $241.71, decreasing his ownership by 25.25%, leaving him with 142,872 shares valued at approximately $34.53 million.
• Equifax reported a quarterly EPS of $2.00, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.92, and recorded revenue of $1.54 billion, up 7.4% from the same quarter last year.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,469 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $5,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $241,087,000 after acquiring an additional 945,988 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Equifax by 119.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $354,044,000 after acquiring an additional 790,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 24,315.8% during 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Equifax by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after acquiring an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,708,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,582,361,000 after acquiring an additional 318,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of EFX stock traded down $4.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $249.03. The company had a trading volume of 165,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,055,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $255.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.53.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $278.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on 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 reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Seven 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.