Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,435 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,722 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Equifax were worth $7,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $300.33 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $289.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $37.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.06.

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.