Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 575 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of EFX opened at $243.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $259.05 and its 200 day moving average is $272.61. The company has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a PE ratio of 54.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. 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 (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.81.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was 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. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 in the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.