Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 88,790 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,120 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.07% of Equifax worth $22,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth 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 Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Equifax from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.50.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock traded down $21.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $210.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,944,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,775. 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 12-month low of $209.89 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $248.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.34.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. 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.