Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,175 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,338,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Down 0.3%

Equifax stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $261.37. The company had a trading volume of 144,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,707. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The firm's fifty day moving average is $247.40 and its 200-day moving average is $252.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.44.

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.