Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes $3.57 Million Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 14,017 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,572,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. CWM LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 6.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Equifax by 271.5% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 977 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Renaissance Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EFX. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.69.

Equifax Stock Down 1.3 %

EFX stock traded down $3.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $251.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,697,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,920. The firm has a market cap of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.38. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-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.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

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.