Jump Financial LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Jump Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 54.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 985 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,169 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Equifax by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $412,239,000 after purchasing an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $3.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.38. 192,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 962,219. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $237.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.19. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on EFX. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, 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 value of $5,686,477.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Company 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.