Ethic Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Ethic Inc. cut its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 62.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,578 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $273.70 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $241.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.48. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a PE ratio of 56.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.00.

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.