Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $3.89 Million Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 2,128.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,267 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,582 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $330,400,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Equifax by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Equifax by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after buying an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,896,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Equifax by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $313,213,000 after buying an additional 187,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX traded down $2.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $271.52. The stock had a trading volume of 708,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,759. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $241.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on EFX. Argus cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.