Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 50,305 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 90.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,940 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,305 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.09% of Equifax worth $26,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $330,400,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $113,896,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 34.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $251,480,000 after acquiring an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Equifax by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $313,213,000 after acquiring an additional 187,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $8.32 on Thursday, reaching $257.63. 1,185,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 966,479. The firm has a market cap of $32.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $235.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

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.