Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,494 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $15,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $755,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $140,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 20,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,151,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Equifax by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $313,213,000 after acquiring an additional 187,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $244.06 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 moving average price is $252.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.52. The company has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.53, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. 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 (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.56.

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.