Moran Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,238 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $313,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $221,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 147,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,329,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus downgraded Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $254.87 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.64. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $31.61 billion, a PE ratio of 52.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 0.61%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Equifax Company 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.