Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases New Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,158 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.13.

Equifax Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $240.05 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 49.70, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.57.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

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.