Blair William & Co. IL Has $15.13 Million Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Equifax were worth $15,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Equifax by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 11.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,512 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 93,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Equifax by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 74,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,881,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Equifax by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $240.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $29.81 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 0.65%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Four research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.56.

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.