Atala Financial Inc Invests $49,000 in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four 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, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.47.

Equifax Stock Down 0.3 %

Equifax stock opened at $235.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.85, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $253.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.00.

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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. 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.