Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Decreases Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 20,800 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.08% of Equifax worth $24,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted 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 during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Argus lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $260.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 220,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,066. The stock has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 54.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $237.41 and a 200 day moving average of $253.40. 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 (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Equifax Company 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.