Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 438,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 109,199 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.35% of Equifax worth $111,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 39.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring 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 raised its position in Equifax by 11.1% in the fourth 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 period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position 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 valued at $412,239,000 after purchasing an additional 791,730 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 value of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $6.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $276.49. 750,374 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,429. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $241.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.33. 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 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Argus lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.