Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $37 Million Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 145,195 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,003,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Equifax at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th 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 period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.31.

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Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $1.20 on Tuesday, reaching $225.52. The stock had a trading volume of 867,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,988. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $239.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.87. The stock has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.