Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 12,451 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 721,606 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,451 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Equifax worth $175,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EFX. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in Equifax by 505.0% in the fourth 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 period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Equifax in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas downgraded Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $1.69 on Thursday, reaching $256.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 715,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,652. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $261.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.42, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.63. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. Research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

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

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.