Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,011 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,173 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth $2,797,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 17.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Equifax from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.31.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $221.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,458,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,883. The company has a market capitalization of $27.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $236.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Equifax 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.