Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 48.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,218 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Equifax by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $412,239,000 after purchasing an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $221.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,458,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,516. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $237.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a PE ratio of 45.85, a PEG 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on EFX. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Equifax from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.31.

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.