TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,483 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 71,599 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Equifax worth $36,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 3.8% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 738 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $260.73. 512,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,033,532. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.99. The company has a market capitalization of $32.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.60. 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 issued its quarterly 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. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's payout ratio is 40.90%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

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 shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible 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 shares were 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 owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.