Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,711,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,768 shares during the period. Equifax comprises about 2.4% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.40% of Equifax worth $438,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Equifax by 82.9% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 4,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.94, for a total transaction of $1,176,779.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,405,634.16. The trade was a 11.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 27,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.10, for a total value of $6,461,324.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,934 shares in the company, valued at $33,032,047.40. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,270 shares of company stock valued at $12,580,837 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on EFX. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Equifax to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $234.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equifax from $295.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.14.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $213.81 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.42. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $281.07. The stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.95%.

Equifax 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.