M&T Bank Corp Raises Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,626 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Equifax were worth $5,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth about $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.13.

Remove Ads

Equifax Trading Up 3.7 %

EFX traded up $9.11 on Friday, hitting $254.87. 1,352,861 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,471. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.61 billion, a PE 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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.