Canoe Financial LP Invests $360,000 in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,478 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 58,370 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $14,876,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 260.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax 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 now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of EFX stock opened at $255.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $259.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. Equities research analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's payout ratio is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday. 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. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.63.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.