Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 42,308 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,748 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,308 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.16% of Equifax worth $50,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on EFX. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.44.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE:EFX traded down $0.65 on Friday, hitting $262.40. The company had a trading volume of 215,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,656. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $247.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.57.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's payout ratio is 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, 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. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.