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

Arlington Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX traded down $3.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $251.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,697,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,920. 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 firm has a market cap of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The business's fifty day moving average price is $260.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.38.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Equifax's payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.