Equifax (NYSE:EFX) CEO Mark Begor Sells 37,792 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Equifax CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares for approximately $6.91 million at an average price of $182.80, reducing his stake by 11.53%. The transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Equifax reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $2.26 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.06, while revenue reached $1.69 billion, up 9.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $200.55, compared with the stock’s reported trading price of $175.26.

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.80, for a total transaction of $6,908,377.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 289,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,997,741.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock traded down $3.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,195,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,396. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $137.01 and a one year high of $228.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $166.95 and its 200 day moving average is $178.25.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 11.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Equifax by 310.5% during the first quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $753,515,000 after buying an additional 3,165,120 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Equifax during the second quarter worth $290,868,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Equifax during the second quarter valued at $187,215,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Equifax during the second quarter valued at $174,843,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Credit Suisse Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Loop Capital set a $169.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Argus raised shares of Equifax from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.55.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.

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