Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stock Position Increased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 69.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,778 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 13.5% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Equifax by 3.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $238.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on EFX. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

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.