Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,902 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 11,389 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Equifax were worth $9,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,667,165,000 after acquiring an additional 135,009 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Equifax by 15.6% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 11,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during 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 buying an additional 71,543 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $330,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $258.71 on Friday. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $264.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.09. The stock has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.91, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 target price (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.50.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

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.

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