Brasada Capital Management LP Decreases Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Brasada Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 70.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 20,248 shares during the period. Brasada Capital Management LP's holdings in Equifax were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after buying an additional 135,009 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Equifax by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $796,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $751,645,000 after purchasing an additional 71,543 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $467,676,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $245.74 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $235.98 and a 200 day moving average of $254.35. The firm has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a PE ratio of 50.88, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Argus cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.31.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.