Integrated Advisors Network LLC Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 17,258 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,268,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $241.72 on Wednesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $275.10. The firm has a market cap of $29.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.66, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.77.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $13,143,735.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at $14,263,083.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.19.

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.