Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Makes New $35,000 Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 137 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in Equifax in the third quarter worth about $85,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $253.39 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $261.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.57. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.31, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. 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 one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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.