IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,324 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Equifax were worth $6,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 505.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $264.20. 2,346,121 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,403. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.03, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. BNP Paribas lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.19.

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.