Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,935 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.22% of Equifax worth $70,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,400,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $113,896,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Equifax by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,228,741 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $313,213,000 after buying an additional 187,460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 9.3 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $210.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $209.89 and a one year high of $309.63. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.34.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.50.

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.