Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,155 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,411 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $15,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Equifax by 39.0% in 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 last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.82. 795,234 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,417. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $240.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.55. The company has a market cap of $33.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. 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 (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

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.