Fmr LLC Trims Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Fmr LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,115,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 118,048 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $794,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $330,400,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after purchasing an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $113,896,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $313,213,000 after purchasing an additional 187,460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $208.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $246.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.23 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.50.

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.