Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 2.2%, owning 11.84% of the company, valued at approximately $3.58 billion following the purchase of an additional 318,826 shares.
• Equifax reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 7.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Recent analyst ratings show twelve out of twenty analysts recommend a "buy" for Equifax, with an average target price of $285.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,708,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 318,826 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.84% of Equifax worth $3,582,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 12.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in 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 last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 19.9% in 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 during 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 valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $241.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $257.04 and a 200 day moving average of $252.27. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 47.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup decreased 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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