Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,322 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 16,485.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 201,182 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 199,969 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 9.7% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 70.8% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $224.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $27.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.51. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. TheStreet raised Equifax from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.