Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes $367,000 Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after acquiring an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 37.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,041,000 after buying an additional 29,742 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $467,676,000 after buying an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $245.28 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $256.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.53. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on EFX shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

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.