Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,013 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Equifax by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 84.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.3% in the third quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,572,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $254.87 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on EFX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.