Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP Sells $518,200.00 in Stock

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Equifax Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $269.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $33.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.42.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.