Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 945,988 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 7,883,233.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 945,988 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.76% of Equifax worth $241,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

Equifax Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $4.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $275.67. 652,333 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,378. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $34.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.61. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. 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 is currently 40.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 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. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.