State of Alaska Department of Revenue Acquires 390 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 505.0% during 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. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $255.31 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $259.09 and its 200-day moving average is $253.30. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.21, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted 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 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.63.

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.