Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,747,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 217,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 3.02% of Equifax worth $954,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

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Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $21.50 on Friday, hitting $210.30. 2,944,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 960,775. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.89 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.54, a PEG 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.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Equifax's payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.50.

Equifax Company 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.