Parnassus Investments LLC Buys 624 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,066,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $607,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Equifax by 8.5% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 14.2% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 126,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,970,000 after acquiring an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 85.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,904,000 after acquiring an additional 17,501 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 183.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,552,000 after acquiring an additional 11,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 23.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.95.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related 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 shares were 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 owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Down 1.2 %

EFX stock opened at $245.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. 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 12 month low of $204.16 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $281.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.70.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

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.