Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 6,103 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,103 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $264,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $239.64 on Thursday. 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 $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.62, 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 Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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, Argus cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.