CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 215,282 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,443 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc owned 0.17% of Equifax worth $63,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $262.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $283.54 and a 200-day moving average of $266.74. 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 1 year low of $195.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on EFX. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

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.