Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $285.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock, down from their previous price objective of $300.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.94.

Equifax Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE EFX traded down $1.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $256.34. The company had a trading volume of 715,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,652. The company's fifty day moving average is $261.22 and its 200-day moving average is $253.20. The company has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Equifax has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 40.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,037,804 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,714,129,000 after buying an additional 2,009,987 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $330,400,000. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of Equifax by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 2,801,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $682,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,446 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 4,570,557 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,113,205,000 after purchasing an additional 987,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $241,087,000 after purchasing an additional 945,988 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.