Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Buys 7,500 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,918 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.06% of Equifax worth $18,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 on Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Down 1.0%

EFX traded down $2.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.23. 339,342 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 979,194. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of 53.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $263.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.90%.

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.