Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Increases Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 741,413 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,989 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Equifax were worth $188,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Equifax Stock Down 0.6 %

EFX stock opened at $241.76 on Thursday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week 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. The company has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $252.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.40.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.56.

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.