Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stake Raised by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,075 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,788 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of Equifax worth $40,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX traded down $9.71 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $214.73. 189,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 968,675. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.63. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $26.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.50.

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.