Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Has $404,000 Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $237.14 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.68. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

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.