Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $26.20 Million Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,212 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $26,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Equifax by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Equifax by 5.1% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Equifax by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in Equifax by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.19.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $239.96 on Wednesday. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $275.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 53.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.39.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 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 transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $836,726.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

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.