Tidal Investments LLC Purchases 1,058 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,930 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,766,000 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. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $260.58. The stock had a trading volume of 76,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,425. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $247.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business 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 is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on EFX. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.44.

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.