Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Purchased by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,186 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.45% of Equifax worth $141,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 9.3 %

Shares of EFX opened at $210.30 on Monday. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $209.89 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.08.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.50.

Equifax 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.