Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,477 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,678 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $13,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $330,400,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $241,087,000 after buying an additional 945,988 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 24,315.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $169,541,000 after acquiring an additional 693,243 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after acquiring an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Equifax by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $313,213,000 after acquiring an additional 187,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX traded down $6.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $258.71. 530,837 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 990,326. The company's 50-day moving average is $264.78 and its 200 day moving average is $253.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.60. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for 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 year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $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. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax 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.