Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 354.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,400 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.10% of Equifax worth $31,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 now owns 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.44.

Equifax Stock Down 0.3%

EFX stock traded down $0.91 on Monday, hitting $262.50. 660,019 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 973,798. The stock has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $246.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 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.