Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 1,480.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,790 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,538 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $5,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Equifax by 6.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 147,448 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,329,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 8.3% during 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. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,876 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 28,226 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,193,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Equifax Stock Performance
Equifax stock traded up $3.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $278.84. The stock had a trading volume of 619,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,999. The stock's 50 day moving average is $242.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.65. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $34.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.
Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.
Equifax Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Equifax news, 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Equifax
Equifax Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More
Before you consider Equifax, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Equifax wasn't on the list.
While Equifax currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
