Weitz Investment Management Inc. Purchases 21,850 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 11.6%, purchasing an additional 21,850 shares to hold a total of 210,350 shares valued at approximately $51.2 million.
• Insider trading activity showed that CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares for around $11.67 million, reflecting a 25.25% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• Equifax's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus target price of $285.00, despite some price targets being lowered recently by various analysts.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 210,350 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,850 shares during the period. Equifax comprises about 2.7% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Equifax worth $51,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 12.0% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,464.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 16,961 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 $34,533,591.12. This represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $240.47. 1,018,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,115,159. The company has a market capitalization of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 47.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.64. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $257.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.50.

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

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.