KBC Group NV Has $10.09 Million Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 128.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,308 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Equifax were worth $10,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. 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 buying an additional 959,115 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Equifax by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Equifax by 2.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Equifax by 4.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 127.1% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $84,947,000 after purchasing an additional 196,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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. UBS Group began coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s 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 owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $248.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.13 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.22.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

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.