Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,501 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,628 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Equifax worth $24,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 1,920.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 505.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.94.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE EFX traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $256.16. 1,976,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 980,373. The business's fifty day moving average price is $262.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.64. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. 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.