Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock: Insider Jamil Farshchi Sells 15,110 Shares

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 15,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.77, for a total transaction of $2,867,424.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,456,063.30. The trade was a 27.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $188.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.27. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.01 and a 1 year high of $228.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 22.48%. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.5% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 3,590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 8.9% during the third quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Equifax by 0.8% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 13,647 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,457,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Equifax from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Equifax from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $177.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Equifax from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.55.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc. is a global data, analytics and technology company best known as one of the major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States. The company traces its history to 1899, when it was founded as the Retail Credit Company, and adopted the Equifax name in 1975. Equifax provides consumer and business credit information, credit reports and scores, and tools for identity verification and fraud prevention. Its products also help businesses assess risk and make decisions about lending, customer relationships and marketing.