Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 376 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Equifax were worth $96,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 0.9 %

EFX opened at $253.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.36. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.31, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group began 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.18.

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.