Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 1,050 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 75.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,442 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This 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 this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.50.

Equifax Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $261.68. 573,401 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 993,339. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.60. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.90%.

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.