Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 51,545 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 86.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,415,284,000 after buying an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 37.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,041,000 after purchasing an additional 29,742 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $282,212,000 after purchasing an additional 959,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX opened at $248.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $261.12 and a 200 day moving average of $274.92.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction 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 through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.69.

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.