Parnassus Investments LLC Lowers Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,948,324 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 118,289 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 1.57% of Equifax worth $496,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 254 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $298.47.

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Equifax Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of EFX stock traded down $4.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $235.60. 1,012,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 907,992. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The business's fifty day moving average is $253.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.05. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's 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.