Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stake Boosted by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,403 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,005 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Equifax were worth $13,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after purchasing an additional 135,009 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Equifax by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after acquiring an additional 679,688 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $796,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $751,645,000 after purchasing an additional 71,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $467,676,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $18.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $258.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,198,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,334. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $244.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.80. 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 $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $293.38.

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 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, 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 owned by insiders.

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.