Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 508 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

by · The Markets Daily

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX – Free Report) by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Equifax by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Equifax by 4.9% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 2.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Equifax by 72.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 633,887 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $267.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.01 and a fifty-two week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $284.96 and a 200-day moving average of $266.78.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.47.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on EFX

Equifax Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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