Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Acquires 43 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,902,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Novus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $546,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Equifax by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 11,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $239.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.48 and a 200-day moving average of $268.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.