Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $2.53 Million Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,620 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Equifax were worth $2,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth $223,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 26.2% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 325.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Equifax by 16.0% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $248.27 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $282.67 and its 200 day moving average is $267.55. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $197.13 and a one year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $30.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

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.