Royal Bank of Canada Grows Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,132 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,869 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.17% of Equifax worth $53,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Equifax by 505.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.44.

Equifax Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of EFX traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $259.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 263,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,107. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company's 50 day moving average is $246.74 and its 200 day moving average is $252.52.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value 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. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.