Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 4,113 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 709,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,113 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.57% of Equifax worth $180,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $205.32 on Wednesday. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.75 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.08 and a 200-day moving average of $259.38. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EFX. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.