Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,047 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,001 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $9,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 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 approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of EFX stock traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $255.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,992,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 981,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $259.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.30.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.63.

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.