Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $17.61 Million Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. decreased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 38.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,925 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 37,466 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $17,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth approximately $222,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter worth $223,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 26.2% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in Equifax by 325.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,066 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 16.0% in the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX traded down $2.98 on Monday, hitting $245.29. 1,586,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,211. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $282.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 55.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.16 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equifax's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.47.

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.