Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Boston Partners

Boston Partners boosted its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,460 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.99% of Equifax worth $313,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during 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 last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.47.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $240.46 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.05. The company has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a PE ratio of 49.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.