Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,322 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 249 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 8.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.6% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 17,258 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,268,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $224.46 on Wednesday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $256.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.51.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.19.

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.