Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 37.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after acquiring an additional 880,162 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,896,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after buying an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,052,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $268,156,000 after buying an additional 159,332 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of EFX opened at $254.87 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.61 billion, a PE ratio of 52.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.84. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.