Valley Forge Capital Management LP Takes $36.70 Million Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Valley Forge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 144,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $36,698,000. Equifax accounts for approximately 0.8% of Valley Forge Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Valley Forge Capital Management LP owned about 0.12% of Equifax as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after purchasing an additional 135,009 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Equifax by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $796,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $751,645,000 after purchasing an additional 71,543 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $467,676,000 after acquiring an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Down 0.3%

EFX stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $262.50. The stock had a trading volume of 660,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,798. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.35, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.44.

Equifax Profile

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.