American Trust Sells 51 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

American Trust lessened its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Equifax were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $262.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of 54.35, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $246.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.52.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 yield of 0.76%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.44.

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.