National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,758 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,214 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Equifax were worth $15,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Equifax by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after buying an additional 52,489 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $845,041,000 after acquiring an additional 29,742 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 valued at $412,239,000 after purchasing an additional 791,730 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $12.47 on Thursday, reaching $211.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 279,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,102,275. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92, a PEG 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. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $242.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.50.

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.