Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stock Holdings Increased by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,861 shares during the period. Equifax makes up about 1.8% of Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 2.52% of Equifax worth $796,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas downgraded Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Equifax Trading Up 3.3 %

Equifax stock traded up $8.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $257.63. 1,185,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $235.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.31. The company has a market capitalization of $32.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.34, a PEG 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.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

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

Equifax Company 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.