BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 115.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 312,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 167,155 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.25% of Equifax worth $79,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Equifax by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $262.43 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $238.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.43. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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