GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. Acquires 4,219 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 245,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,219 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for 7.2% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.20% of Equifax worth $62,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on EFX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.56.

Equifax Stock Up 1.4 %

Equifax stock opened at $243.72 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.46, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $251.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

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.