New England Research & Management Inc. Takes Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $786,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value 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. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 0.7 %

EFX stock opened at $271.33 on Thursday. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 60.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $260.31 and a 200 day moving average of $274.73.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.88.

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.