Arizona State Retirement System Has $9.16 Million Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Equifax were worth $9,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 19.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,867,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $313,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $221,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 0.3 %

Equifax stock opened at $245.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.86, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.48. 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.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EFX. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

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.