Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Bought by Tredje AP fonden

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden increased its holdings in Equifax, Inc. by 67.4% in Q1, now owning 49,686 shares worth $12.1 million.
• Equifax reported earnings of $2.00 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $1.92, along with a revenue of $1.54 billion.
• Institutional investors now own 96.20% of Equifax's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.

Tredje AP fonden lifted its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 67.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,686 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Equifax were worth $12,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 15.6% in 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 buying an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $796,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $751,645,000 after purchasing an additional 71,543 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Equifax by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,207,225 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $307,661,000 after purchasing an additional 116,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Equifax by 4.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,098,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $267,604,000 after purchasing an additional 46,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $239.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,606,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,116. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $258.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America downgraded Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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 decreased their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.