Two Sigma Securities LLC Has $279,000 Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Two Sigma Securities LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 67.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,220 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $330,400,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Equifax by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after acquiring an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $113,896,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $260.88. 773,605 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $237.83 and its 200 day moving average is $253.19. The stock has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a PE ratio of 54.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

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 (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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. 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 is 40.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on EFX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.