Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Purchases 45,187 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 3,372.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,527 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 45,187 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Equifax were worth $11,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $264.39. 1,046,534 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 973,918. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $247.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.57. The company has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.74, 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.