Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Down 1.0 %

Equifax stock opened at $240.79 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.21. The stock has a market cap of $29.85 billion, a PE ratio of 49.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.58. 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.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.57 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 paid 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 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

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

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.