Nuveen LLC Invests $65.58 Million in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $65.58 million in Equifax, acquiring 269,264 shares which account for about 0.22% of the company, according to its latest SEC filing.
• Major institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Equifax, with Lazard Asset Management boosting its position by almost 7.9 million percent during the last quarter.
• Equifax reported quarterly earnings of $2.00 per share, beating analysts' expectations of $1.92, while also seeing a 7.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 269,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $65,582,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Equifax as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 945,988 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 790,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 693,243 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 679,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 318,826 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Equifax Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of EFX opened at $253.41 on Thursday. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $255.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.53. 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 (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 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 prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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