Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 22,458 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 978,073 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 22,458 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.79% of Equifax worth $237,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,754,228,000 after purchasing an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Equifax by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $953,612,000 after buying an additional 298,846 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $515,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,572,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $388,949,000 after acquiring an additional 206,037 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $0.22 on Monday, reaching $301.95. The company had a trading volume of 485,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,902. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $306.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $264.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.62. The firm has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a PE ratio of 67.30, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

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.