Square Wave Partners L.P. Purchases New Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Square Wave Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 47,017 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,982,000. Equifax makes up 11.6% of Square Wave Partners L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Equifax by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 658,438 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $193,489,000 after buying an additional 50,680 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $2,053,000. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,970 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,599,000 after buying an additional 5,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Equifax by 153.8% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 73,832 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $18,816,000 after buying an additional 44,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now directly owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 value of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.44.

Equifax Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $262.50. 660,019 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 972,354. The firm has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.35, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $246.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.78.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.