Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Buys 43,321 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 39.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,905 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,321 shares during the period. Equifax accounts for 2.7% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of Equifax worth $39,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,667,165,000 after acquiring an additional 135,009 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Equifax by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,281,340,000 after buying an additional 679,688 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $796,075,000 after buying an additional 11,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 71,543 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 note on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.31.

Equifax Stock Up 14.1 %

EFX opened at $245.74 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $235.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.35. 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 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Equifax 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.

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