First Trust Advisors LP Takes Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 90,471 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,057,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.07% of Equifax at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after acquiring an additional 135,009 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $751,645,000 after buying an additional 71,543 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $467,676,000 after buying an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $330,400,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:EFX traded up $2.64 on Tuesday, hitting $258.97. 848,799 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,868. The stock has a market cap of $32.16 billion, a PE ratio of 53.62, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $236.60 and a 200-day moving average of $253.32. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EFX. Barclays restated 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, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

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.