Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,727 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Equifax were worth $9,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 178.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 435 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFX. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Down 1.3 %

EFX stock opened at $238.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $258.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax 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.