USS Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,536 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Equifax were worth $5,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $263.39 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $32.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.53, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $245.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.83. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Equifax's payout ratio is 40.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EFX. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on 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 now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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