Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 54,434 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,825,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 54,434 shares during the period. Equifax makes up 3.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 1.47% of Equifax worth $536,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of EFX opened at $245.29 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $281.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.16 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.