North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $28.41 Million Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,465 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Equifax accounts for 1.3% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Equifax worth $28,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.44.

Equifax Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $262.50 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $246.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of 54.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

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.