Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes $330,000 Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 21,537 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,329,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 767,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,431,000 after purchasing an additional 88,895 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,461,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in Equifax during the third quarter valued at $238,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.74.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Trading Up 4.1 %

Equifax stock opened at $263.87 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.67 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $32.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59. 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 50-day simple moving average of $276.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.36.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced 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 net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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.