Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 355 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 18.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Conning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 1.2% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $248.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.22. The stock has a market cap of $30.77 billion, a PE ratio of 55.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $197.13 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

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.