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

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 about 0.16% of Equifax worth $50,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 111.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,441 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $2,338,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 66,305 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,898,000 after acquiring an additional 21,679 shares during the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 111,465 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $28,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 89.4% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,911 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE EFX traded up $0.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $263.01. 524,919 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 973,181. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $247.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This 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 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.