Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,310 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,515 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.08% of Equifax worth $26,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake 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 period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in 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 period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

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Equifax Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of EFX traded down $2.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $222.80. The company had a trading volume of 411,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,538. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $238.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.65. The firm has a market cap of $27.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Equifax from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.31.

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.