Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stake Cut by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 276,502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,935 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $70,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.50.

Equifax Stock Down 9.3 %

EFX stock opened at $210.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.34. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.89 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.