Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,009 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 0.3% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $298.17. 42,806 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,617. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.42, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $298.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $260.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.45.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,238 shares of company stock worth $3,492,928. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.