Arlington Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Arlington Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Equifax by 122.8% during the fourth quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 86,282 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,989,000 after acquiring an additional 47,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Equifax by 184.2% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on EFX. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.69.

Equifax Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $248.59 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $261.12 and a 200 day moving average of $274.92. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax 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.