Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,616 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,377 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Equifax were worth $14,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $0.58 on Friday, reaching $256.62. 1,118,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,085. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13, 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 quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company's 50-day moving average is $236.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.94.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

About Equifax

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.