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

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,572,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. CWM LLC increased its position in Equifax by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Equifax by 6.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at $205,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $249.58 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $30.94 billion, a PE ratio of 51.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.15. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.13.

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.