Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stake Lessened by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,600 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 17,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Equifax worth $89,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Equifax Stock Up 2.7 %

Equifax stock traded up $6.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $242.10. 1,550,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 911,918. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $253.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.55. The company has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a PE ratio of 50.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

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Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.47.

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.