BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 64,200 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,395,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments owned about 0.05% of Equifax as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of EFX traded up $4.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $266.34. The company had a trading volume of 749,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,132. The firm has a market cap of $33.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $238.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.50.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

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.