Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 24,295 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 409,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,295 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.33% of Equifax worth $104,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in 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 period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of EFX opened at $238.04 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $258.10 and a 200 day moving average of $272.93. The company has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a PE ratio of 49.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. 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.