Equifax, Inc. (EFX) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 25th

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 5th. Investors 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th.

Equifax has a dividend payout ratio of 24.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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

Equifax stock opened at $189.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.27. Equifax has a 1 year low of $137.01 and a 1 year high of $228.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.79.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,792 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 289,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,997,741.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.68, for a total transaction of $710,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,574,963.60. This trade represents a 5.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,292 shares of company stock valued at $8,464,918. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $753,515,000 after buying an additional 3,165,120 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Equifax by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $379,490,000 after buying an additional 563,880 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter worth $290,868,000. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 3.9% during the first quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $322,574,000 after buying an additional 67,381 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.