Fmr LLC Decreases Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,115,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 118,048 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 2.51% of Equifax worth $794,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EFX. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.50.

Equifax Stock Down 0.7 %

EFX opened at $208.69 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.42. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.23 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 43.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.