Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. raised its position 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 last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 5.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $297.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 66.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $308.54.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. Equifax’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EFX. Bank of America increased their price objective on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Company 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.