Signaturefd LLC Has $11.84 Million Position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,622 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,751 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $11,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EFX. CWM LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 3.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 50.9% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 106,362 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $25,906,000 after acquiring an additional 35,863 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 75.4% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $2.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $260.73. The company had a trading volume of 512,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,033,532. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.66 and a 200-day moving average of $252.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $32.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.60. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,395 shares of the company's stock, 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.50.

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.