LRI Investments LLC Has $266,000 Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Equifax by 505.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EFX. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $276.49 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $241.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.33. The firm has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.90%.

About Equifax

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.