Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average on Insider Selling

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)’s share price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $178.06 and traded as low as $174.55. Equifax shares last traded at $175.2590, with a volume of 2,195,524 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.80, for a total transaction of $6,908,377.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 289,922 shares in the company, valued at $52,997,741.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EFX. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $225.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.55.

Equifax Trading Down 1.8%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.06.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Equifax by 310.5% during the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $753,515,000 after buying an additional 3,165,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Equifax by 36.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $379,490,000 after acquiring an additional 563,880 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 3.9% during the first quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $322,574,000 after acquiring an additional 67,381 shares during the period. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Equifax in the second quarter worth about $290,868,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.