90,471 Shares in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 90,471 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,057,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Equifax as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas downgraded Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1 %

EFX stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $260.48. 163,740 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 962,875. The company has a 50-day moving average of $237.41 and a 200-day moving average of $253.40. 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 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a PE ratio of 53.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase 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 is 40.90%.

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.