Berkeley Inc Buys 19,374 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Berkeley Inc grew its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 165.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,374 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for approximately 2.6% of Berkeley Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Berkeley Inc’s holdings in Equifax were worth $7,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,966,903 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,881,966,000 after acquiring an additional 258,572 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,968,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,288,783,000 after purchasing an additional 66,914 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,142,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $811,650,000 after buying an additional 75,627 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 8.9% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,726,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,928,000 after buying an additional 140,427 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $334,521,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $208.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.56. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $281.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.10. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 11.08%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 37.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equifax from $295.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Equifax to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equifax from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $285.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 4,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.94, for a total value of $1,176,779.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,364 shares in the company, valued at $9,405,634.16. This represents a 11.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 21,386 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.12, for a total transaction of $4,942,732.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,040.40. This represents a 49.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,270 shares of company stock worth $12,580,837. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.