Larson Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 209.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,485 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 135,009 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 0.4% in the fourth 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 grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $751,645,000 after acquiring an additional 71,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $330,400,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company'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 value of $5,686,477.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $261.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.14. The stock has a market cap of $32.50 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.60. 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 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.50.

Equifax 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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