Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 159,332 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,052,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,332 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.85% of Equifax worth $268,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Equifax by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $244.22 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $256.62 and a 200-day moving average of $272.14. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued 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 yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.