Raiffeisen Bank International AG Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired 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. The firm acquired 6,056 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE:EFX traded down $3.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $276.83. 1,288,469 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,439. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $244.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 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.