Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 1,167 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $1,235,626.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,029,028.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $1,235,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,029,028.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282 over the last three months. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of EFX traded down $3.59 on Friday, hitting $241.61. 523,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 707,976. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $275.10. The company has a market capitalization of $29.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research 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 research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 research note on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.19.

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.