Inceptionr LLC Acquires New Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,540 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 37.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 95.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $113,896,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $268,156,000 after purchasing an additional 159,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $239.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,190,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,846. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $254.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

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Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $301.13.

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.