Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3,372.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,527 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,187 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $27,964,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Equifax by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 196,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,141,000 after acquiring an additional 42,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Equifax by 111.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.44.

Equifax Stock Down 0.3%

Equifax stock opened at $262.50 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. 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 one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during 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, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.