Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $14.36 Million Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Equifax were worth $14,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $4.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $268.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 57,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,613. 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 stock has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.71, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.31 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.19.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax 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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFX. UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas raised 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Equifax Company 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.