T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,569,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 259,268 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $654,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,667,165,000 after buying an additional 135,009 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,281,340,000 after acquiring an additional 679,688 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $796,075,000 after acquiring an additional 11,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $751,645,000 after acquiring an additional 71,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $467,676,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Up 14.1 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $245.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a PE ratio of 50.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFX. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $260.00 price target (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.31.

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.