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

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 97.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,469 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 152,488 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Equifax by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 44.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, 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 value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $2.50 on Thursday, hitting $253.50. 839,978 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,393. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $257.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.38. 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 has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a PE ratio of 51.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.63. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, 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 price target for the company. Five equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.