Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 86,087 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 86,087 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,939,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Equifax as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Equifax by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 658,438 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $193,489,000 after purchasing an additional 50,680 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Equifax by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $368,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX traded down $0.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $262.50. 660,019 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 973,798. The company has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.35, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.44.

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.