Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,500 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $10,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $330,400,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $241,087,000 after acquiring an additional 945,988 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Equifax by 24,315.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $169,541,000 after acquiring an additional 693,243 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $113,896,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:EFX traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $255.48. The company had a trading volume of 538,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,054. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.37, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.63. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $258.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.34.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's payout ratio is 40.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax 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 now directly owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.63.

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.