Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 8,599 Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 51.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,182 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,599 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $6,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 797 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 1,334.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 674 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1%

Equifax stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $256.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,976,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $262.61 and a 200-day moving average of $253.04. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of 52.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.94.

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.