Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 2,010 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,470 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $301.13.

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Equifax Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of EFX traded up $9.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $254.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,352,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,471. 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 50-day moving average price of $254.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.64. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.