Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Equifax comprises about 1.2% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Equifax worth $25,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 32,757 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,857,000 after purchasing an additional 12,588 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 1,921 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 648,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $160,294,000 after purchasing an additional 15,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $291.96 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $308.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $36.09 billion, a PE ratio of 65.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $276.65 and a 200-day moving average of $256.97.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Equifax 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.