Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,384 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,384 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after purchasing an additional 135,009 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after buying an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $796,075,000 after buying an additional 11,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $751,645,000 after acquiring an additional 71,543 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $467,676,000 after acquiring an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $269.82. 795,234 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,292. 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 twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.86, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The business's fifty day moving average price is $240.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.28.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm 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, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.