PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 739 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,764 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Equifax by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 85.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,904,000 after purchasing an additional 17,501 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 183.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,552,000 after buying an additional 11,002 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 23.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,646,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $253.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.67 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $277.59 and a 200-day moving average of $267.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.74.

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.