Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 678,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,609 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.55% of Equifax worth $172,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.56.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $240.37 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.77, a PEG 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $251.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.86.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 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.