EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $234,000 Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 916 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Equifax by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Equifax by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.0%

Equifax stock opened at $273.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.65 and a 200 day moving average of $252.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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 assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.00.

About Equifax

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.