Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 36,088 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,203,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EFX. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.13.

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Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock traded up $2.63 on Friday, hitting $220.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,593,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,768. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $240.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.33. The stock has a market cap of $27.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

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.