Vident Advisory LLC Acquires 2,604 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

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

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents 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 Price Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $3.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $258.37. 1,099,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,302. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a PE ratio of 53.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $246.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.52.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Equifax 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.