Metis Global Partners LLC Has $1.44 Million Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 4.2% during 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 during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 5.4% during 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 during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 6.1% during 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 during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Down 0.3 %

EFX stock opened at $244.38 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $255.86 and its 200-day moving average is $271.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a PE ratio of 50.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued 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 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.