Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Boosts Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,309 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $246.49 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $259.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.65. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a PE ratio of 51.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax 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 transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.