Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 43.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,852 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America downgraded 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 note on Monday. BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Six investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.94.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $256.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,976,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,646. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $261.92 and its 200 day moving average is $253.14.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.