Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Brasada Capital Management LP

Brasada Capital Management LP decreased its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 70.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 20,248 shares during the quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP's holdings in Equifax were worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,797,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Equifax by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,184 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Five equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded down $2.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $254.00. 285,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 962,760. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.52. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. 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.