NS Partners Ltd Has $27.92 Million Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

NS Partners Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Equifax accounts for 1.2% of NS Partners Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. NS Partners Ltd owned about 0.08% of Equifax worth $27,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Equifax by 2.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after acquiring an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after purchasing an additional 70,091 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 72.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after purchasing an additional 959,115 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.84.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $245.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.45, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.16 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.82.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.