EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $234,000 in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 916 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of EFX traded up $3.68 on Friday, reaching $278.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 619,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,550. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.63 billion, a PE ratio of 57.73, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $243.28 and a 200-day moving average of $252.72.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the 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 approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following 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. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on EFX shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. BNP Paribas cut 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. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut 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. Five 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.