Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lowered its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 68.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Equifax were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.75.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $271.72 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $251.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.24. The company has a market cap of $33.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 65,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax 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.