C Partners Holding GmbH Purchases 129,018 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

C Partners Holding GmbH grew its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 277.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,490 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 129,018 shares during the period. Equifax accounts for approximately 11.2% of C Partners Holding GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. C Partners Holding GmbH owned 0.14% of Equifax worth $44,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 34.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 147,448 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,329,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 658,438 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $193,489,000 after buying an additional 50,680 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's 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 owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $4.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.34. The company had a trading volume of 749,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,132. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.60. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $33.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.