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

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 86.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,380 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 51,545 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 13.5% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $301.69.

Equifax Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $3.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $251.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,697,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,920. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $260.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.38. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.