Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 3,200 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Equifax were worth $6,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $240.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.57. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. 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 (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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

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.