Nuveen Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,381 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 71,742 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.22% of Equifax worth $70,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 5,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $241,087,000 after buying an additional 945,988 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 1,480.7% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,790 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,043,000 after acquiring an additional 18,538 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Equifax by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,970 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,815,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $293.38.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $18.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $258.20. 2,198,167 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 974,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $244.89 and a 200-day moving average of $252.80. The firm has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.46, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.