Shell Asset Management Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Shell Asset Management Co. decreased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 42.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,727 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,476 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 378.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE EFX traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $267.75. 122,126 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 817,926. The firm has a market cap of $33.13 billion, a PE ratio of 59.58, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $276.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.66.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Karen L. Fichuk purchased 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $238.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,134.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,238 shares of company stock worth $2,647,378 over the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

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.