Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 96 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $826,000 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 the business. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,959,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $917,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 330,453 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,718,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,274,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Equifax by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,257,000 after purchasing an additional 14,629 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.19.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s 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 $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. In other news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of EFX opened at $236.44 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10. The company has a market capitalization of $29.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.42.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

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.