Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 152,488 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 97.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,469 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 152,488 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 11.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of EFX traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $255.31. 1,992,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 979,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $259.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.23. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday. Five investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.63.

About Equifax

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.