Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,613 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $5,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Equifax Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of EFX stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $256.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 402,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,228. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $236.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.14. The company has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

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.