Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 736 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,898 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Equifax comprises about 1.7% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $5,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $249.58 on Friday. 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 $30.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $260.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.18.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.