Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Position Lowered by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,068 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 84.1% during the 3rd 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 Equifax by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $3,572,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $237.14 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.68. 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 company has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid 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 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

Equifax Company 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.