Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Equifax by 138.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.67.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $265.95 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.10, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $267.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.78.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.