Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 556 shares during the quarter. Equifax makes up approximately 1.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $38,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.12.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last 90 days. 1.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $262.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $257.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.66. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

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.