Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 148 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Equifax by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $251.01 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.97, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.38.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.