Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 87.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,026 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Equifax were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Equifax by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Equifax by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,920,000 after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,572,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $9.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $254.87. 1,352,861 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $31.61 billion, a PE ratio of 52.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $254.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.84.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

About Equifax

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.