Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,024 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $1,546,000. Prana Capital Management LP bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $8,861,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,569,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Equifax by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,494 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $466,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 65,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% 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 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $278.84 on Monday. 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 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.63 billion, a PE ratio of 57.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.