Weitz Investment Management Inc. Has $48.04 Million Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Equifax makes up about 2.5% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Equifax worth $48,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after acquiring an additional 135,009 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Equifax by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,489 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $751,645,000 after buying an additional 71,543 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $467,676,000 after buying an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $243.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.56.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.56.

About Equifax

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.