Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 1,318 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 138.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.74.

Equifax Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $261.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $274.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.38. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.