1,935 Shares in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Bought by Heritage Wealth Management LLC

Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,935 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Kensico Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 108.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 740,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $135,553,000 after purchasing an additional 384,600 shares in the last quarter. Intermede Investment Partners Ltd boosted its stake in Equifax by 55.6% in the third quarter. Intermede Investment Partners Ltd now owns 810,768 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $148,516,000 after buying an additional 289,875 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Equifax by 22.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,366,809 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,372,000 after acquiring an additional 246,390 shares during the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 11.3% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,749,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,419,000 after acquiring an additional 178,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 341,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $84,559,000 after acquiring an additional 142,571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $2.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $222.94. The stock had a trading volume of 91,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,661. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $252.58 and its 200 day moving average is $233.84. The stock has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.54.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.19.

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.