Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires New Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,812 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,744,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. FMR LLC increased its position in Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,896,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $251,480,000 after acquiring an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,052,213 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $268,156,000 after acquiring an additional 159,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock traded up $6.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $242.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,550,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,900. The firm has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.12, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

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Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EFX. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $298.47.

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.