Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 5,550 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in 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 last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Equifax by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.69.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $248.59 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $261.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.92. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

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

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.