Capital International Inc. CA Lowers Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Capital International Inc. CA trimmed its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,361 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 28,079 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Equifax were worth $9,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Barclays PLC increased its position in Equifax by 2.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,797,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 23.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,184 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE:EFX traded up $8.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $257.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,185,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,479. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.97 and a 200-day moving average of $254.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.