Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,613 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,090 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of Equifax worth $56,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of EFX traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $265.94. 848,448 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 975,755. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $249.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.66. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Equifax

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.