Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,693 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,414 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Equifax by 8.5% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,646,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Equifax by 3.9% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,509 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $13,216,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Equifax by 16.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 584,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $141,789,000 after buying an additional 81,966 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equifax from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.67.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $265.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 816,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,433. The company has a market capitalization of $32.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.10, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $267.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.67%.

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.