Artemis Investment Management LLP Reduces Stock Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Artemis Investment Management LLP cut its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 38.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,519 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 28,313 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Equifax were worth $11,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $693,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 21,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,372,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,427 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,696,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 48,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,233,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.94.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $256.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,976,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,373. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $262.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.04. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.63.

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 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 analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. 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%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

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.