New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 6,672 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,065 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,672 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Equifax worth $25,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $3.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $243.15. 1,201,633 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,061,217. The stock has a market cap of $30.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.34, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $259.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax's payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $301.13.

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.