Van ECK Associates Corp Has $412.24 Million Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 95.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Equifax were worth $412,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position 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 worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 3.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $254.54 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.55. The stock has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 0.61%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays cut their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.69.

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.