abrdn plc Buys 3,552 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 49,143 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,552 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Equifax were worth $14,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 76,913.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $282,212,000 after buying an additional 959,115 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Equifax by 72.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,051,000 after acquiring an additional 633,887 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Equifax by 2.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Equifax by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 127.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $84,947,000 after purchasing an additional 196,106 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,304 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,119 over the last three months. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $264.39 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a PE ratio of 58.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.58. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $170.62 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

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.