Tortoise Investment Management LLC Acquires 112 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 78.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $65,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth approximately $85,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued 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 an average target price of $301.13.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $250.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.79, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $254.78 and its 200 day moving average is $269.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

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.