SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,853 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 76,913.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after acquiring an additional 959,115 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 37.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5,123.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,827,000 after purchasing an additional 112,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 767,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,431,000 after buying an additional 88,895 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on EFX shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.88.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $273.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a PE ratio of 60.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.