Vident Advisory LLC Has $1.22 Million Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 119.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,780 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,604 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th 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 raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.6% in 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. raised its holdings 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 valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in 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 valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $259.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 86,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,483. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $247.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on EFX. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.44.

About Equifax

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.