Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Will Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.56

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share by the credit services provider on Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th.

Equifax has a payout ratio of 24.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Equifax to earn $9.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.2%.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $194.90 on Friday. Equifax has a 1 year low of $137.01 and a 1 year high of $228.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.88. The firm has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.27.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 8.50 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP John Gamble sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,979,577.80. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,792 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.80, for a total value of $6,908,377.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 289,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,997,741.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,292 shares of company stock valued at $8,464,918. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Equifax by 310.5% during the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $753,515,000 after buying an additional 3,165,120 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $290,868,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $187,215,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $174,843,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.