Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 13,651 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,381 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 13,651 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Equifax were worth $9,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 5.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Equifax by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 793 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 1.1 %

Equifax stock traded up $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $242.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,018,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,728. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $236.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.46. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of Equifax 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total value of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.19.

Equifax Company 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.