Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Bought by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 48.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,305 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,679 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.05% of Equifax worth $16,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 658,438 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $193,489,000 after buying an additional 50,680 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $368,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $280.53 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $244.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.63. The firm has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.08, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. 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 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released 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. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

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.

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