Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Raises Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,212 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.08% of Equifax worth $26,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.19.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Equifax news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $575,026.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,238.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $239.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.39.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

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.