Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 1,618 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 78,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,618 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $23,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Equifax by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,916,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Equifax by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 126,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,970,000 after purchasing an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Equifax by 85.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,904,000 after buying an additional 17,501 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,552,000 after buying an additional 11,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 23.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $245.29 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.16 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.70.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

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.