Olstein Capital Management L.P. Acquires 2,000 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 505.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of EFX stock opened at $268.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $33.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.62, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $250.44 and a 200-day moving average of $253.00. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.44.

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.