Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $9,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $240.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.39. The stock has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

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%. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target 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. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.