Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,359 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. Argus lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.47.

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Equifax Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $6.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $242.10. 1,550,030 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 911,918. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a PE ratio of 50.12, 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 quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business's fifty day moving average price is $253.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.55.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.