Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,158 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Equifax were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $243.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $250.49 and its 200-day moving average is $262.56.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.56.

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.