Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Equifax were worth $6,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Equifax by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,052,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $268,156,000 after acquiring an additional 159,332 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Equifax by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 24,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $244.22 on Thursday. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $256.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.14. The company has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.13.

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.