JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 662,699 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,261 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.53% of Equifax worth $168,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $243.89 on Wednesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $250.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.56. The company has a market cap of $30.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.50, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.56.

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.