Avestar Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $249.58 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $260.13 and its 200-day moving average is $274.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.13.

About Equifax

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.